November 28, 2023

464: AI Grab Bag

This week, we talk about Open AI's GPTs-as-apps strategy, FigJam's AI tools, and our dreams for a future Jarvis-like experience.

Read show notes →

October 18, 2023

463: Design Medley, Vol. 1

This week, we talk about the delicate art of using animation in interface design, how to use button sizes, and managing margins in type styles.

Listen →

September 11, 2023

462: Refactoring a Design System

This week, Marshall breaks down his process, tips, and tricks to redesign a design system in Figma.

Listen →

July 25, 2023

461: Config and WWDC 2023

This week, we supply some cold (but thoughtful!) takes on everything released during last month's WWDC and Config 2023.

Listen →

June 8, 2023

460: Arc Boosts ft. Gabriel Valdivia

This week, we dissect the recently-launched Arc Boosts to try and understand what they're for and where they're going.

Listen →

May 18, 2023

459: What Is Humane?

Listen →

April 17, 2023

458: How Do You Simplify a UI?

This week, we share non-obvious tips and tricks for simplifying a UI.

Listen →

March 17, 2023

457: How to Find Focus

This week, we talk about finding focus when there are infinite things to learn to become a better designer.

Listen →

February 27, 2023

456: Should Designers Name Their Layers?

This week, we fight about whether designers should name their layers (without saying "it depends").

Listen →

February 13, 2023

455: Shift Happens ft. Marcin Wichary

This week, we talked with Marcin Wichary about Shift Happens, a book about keyboards. We dive into the details of the book, its publication, website, and more.

Listen →

January 26, 2023

454: Is UI Design Actually That Important?

This week, we answer a crucial question: is UI design actually that important? Our answer may shock you 🫢

Listen →

January 12, 2023

453: Building a Type Stack

This week, we discuss strategies for building an excellent type stack in your designs.

Listen →

December 21, 2022

452: Design Trends for 2023

This week, we discuss current visual design trends and how the web will look in 2023.

Listen →

December 3, 2022

451: The Whole Twitter Thing

This week, we talk about the whole Twitter thing, and how we'd handle the verified badge design debacle.

Listen →

November 10, 2022

450: Designing Hefty Interfaces

This week, we talk about what gives software the feeling of heft and the effect of that feeling on how customers perceive the value of a tool.

Listen →

October 18, 2022

449: Google Pixel 7 Event

This week, we recap Google's Pixel 7 Event and dig into our favorite design details of the new Pixel phone, tablet, and watch.

Listen →

October 3, 2022

448: News Desk, Vol. 5

This week, we break down new Figma features, dissect the Live Activities HIG, and share our cool-takes on the Adobe + Figma acquisition.

Listen →

September 14, 2022

447: Stranded on Dynamic Island

This week, we share our hot takes and first impressions of the new Dynamic Island on the iPhone 14 Pro.

Listen →

August 29, 2022

446: Grab Bag, Vol. 3

This week, we share our preferred naming convention for design files and react to the new Gmail redesign.

Listen →

August 15, 2022

445: Designing the Perfect Desk

This week, we talk about a surprising new "smart desk" being shared online, and we talk about what our dream desk would look like. In the Sidebar, Marshall shares his tips and tricks for keeping his Figma files squeaky clean.

Listen →

July 21, 2022

444: Writing Effective Self-Reviews

This week, we share our tips for writing better self-reviews during performance review season.

Listen →

July 8, 2022

443: Design Systems Interviews

This week, we talk about interviewing for roles in design systems, what to prepare, and how many different kinds of skills are relevant in the field.

Listen →

June 23, 2022

442: It Doesn't Have to Be Right

This week, we share stories and lessons from some of our most memorable mentors.

Listen →

June 9, 2022

441: WWDC 2022

This week, we recap all of our favorite...design details...announced at this week's WWDC.

Listen →

May 25, 2022

440: Don’t Call It a Design Critique

This week, we talk about how to make design critiques more fun, and how to encourage teams to share their work-in-progress more often.

Listen →

May 12, 2022

439: Config 2022

This week, we cover all of the exciting new releases from Config 2022, and do a deep dive into the new version of Auto Layout.

Listen →

May 6, 2022

438: Dissecting Substack’s Podcast Player

This week, we dissect Substack’s new podcast player design, talking about both the pixels and the strategic advantage of sharing craft-specific content on Twitter. In the Sidebar, we talk about the nature and risks of critiquing software as podcasters and design practitioners.

Listen →

April 27, 2022

437: Scaling Design Critique

This week, we talk about methods to scale design critiques with a growing team. In the Sidebar, we dig into the...details...of Figma's latest UI changes which adds file type icons to file tabs.

Listen →

April 20, 2022

436: Reclaiming Your Focus

This week, we share our tips and strategies for reclaiming our focus to do deep design work. In the Sidebar, we revisit last week's conversation about the value of ideas and finding the right time to share an idea with the world.

Listen →

April 13, 2022

435: New Feature Launch Checklist

This week, we share the checklist that we use when launching new features to make sure we’re not missing certain states, flows, or edge cases. In the Sidebar, we talk about working in public and the risk of people stealing your ideas.

Listen →

April 7, 2022

434: News Desk, Vol. 4

This week, we talk about enhancing the performance of design teams, a more efficient developer handoff process, and how to develop strong opinions.

Listen →

March 23, 2022

433: Making a Case for Icons

This week, we make the case for designing product icons and discuss what to do if your team doesn’t want to invest in great iconography. In the Sidebar, we talk about how to incorporate default typefaces into your design system.

Listen →

March 16, 2022

432: Traits of a Good Manager

This week, we spent more time exploring the traits of a good designer manager. In the Sidebar, we talk about the design details of Apple’s Studio Display and Mac Studio.

Listen →

March 2, 2022

431: Transitioning from Industrial to Digital Design

This week, we talk about transitioning industries and how to bridge the quality gap in a new field. In the Sidebar, we talk about storytelling and the surprising insights that can be found in engagement data.

Listen →

February 24, 2022

430: Design File Sanity and Breaking Navigation Patterns

This week, we talk about design file sources of truth, Snapchat's evolution, and the qualities of great managers. In the Sidebar, we talk about building a YouTube channel from scratch, the opportunity for designers on YouTube, and ways to de-risk a new creative exploration.

Listen →

February 17, 2022

429: Better Remote Onboarding

This week, we talk about the messy nature of remote onboarding and share our tips to make it suck just a little less. In the Sidebar, we talk about the visual design for the heads up display used in televised sports.

Listen →

February 10, 2022

428: Teaching vs Micromanaging

This week, we talk about teaching versus micromanaging, or how to give feedback as a manager in a productive and growth-oriented way. In the Sidebar, Marshall shares his tips and tricks for organizing icon systems in Figma.

Listen →

February 3, 2022

427: Tools for Thought ft. Mark McGranaghan and Adam Wiggins

This week, we sat down with Mark McGranaghan and Adam Wiggins to talk about building creative tools, designing across devices and platforms, creating career capital, starting design podcasts, and more.

Listen →

January 27, 2022

426: Senior++ Designer Expectations

This week, we share some (hopefully) non-obvious paths to level up at work and exceed the expectations for a senior++ product designer. In the Sidebar, we talk about the importance of giving blunt feedback, and share ways to do it tactfully and with kindness.

Listen →

January 20, 2022

425: Overengineering Variants

This week, we share tips for crafting component variants to avoid the dreaded variant-explosion problem. In the Sidebar, we talk about Tesla’s latest UI refresh, where we see auto interfaces going in the future, and share some of our favorite car dashboard design details.

Listen →

January 12, 2022

424: The Art of Unsolicited Redesigns

This week, we talk about the art of creating unsolicited redesigns at work — how to approach them, how to wrangle complexity and rabbit holes, and what to do when you have something worth sharing. In the Sidebar, we share our strategies to become a better storyteller and presentation builder.

Listen →

December 16, 2021

423: What We Learned in 2021

This week, we recap how we grew, and the things we learned, in 2021. In The Sidebar, we look forward to 2022 and talk about some of our personal and professional goals for the new year.

Listen →

December 9, 2021

422: The Complainisode

This week, we were invited to have a rant session about the little things in modern software that drive us nuts. A complainisode! In the Sidebar, we share our strategies for having a successful design challenge interview loop.

Listen →

December 2, 2021

421: The Future of Remote Design Teams

This week, we talk about the pros and cons of working on a remote design team, and what we think the future of design organizations will look like in a post-pandemic world. In The Sidebar, we talk about how to weigh compensation against your career trajectory.

Listen →

November 17, 2021

420: The Pointer Cursor Debate

This week, we discuss the humble cursor and its role in affording interactivity in software design. In The Sidebar, we talk about the long term impact of the features we build, the importance of smart defaults, and the value of time well spent in our products.

Listen →

November 10, 2021

419: Teaching Design at Work

This week, we share our strategies and motivations for teaching design at work. In The Sidebar, we talk about the shape of software, how we visualize the tools we build, and what it means for software to feel like something physical.

Listen →

November 3, 2021

418: Fictional User Interfaces

This week, we talk about the weird and beautiful world of fictional user interfaces: why do futuristic UIs look so cool? And why aren't they usable? Is the future really going to look like this? In The Sidebar, we share our must-have macOS apps that are always installed first on a new machine.

Listen →

October 27, 2021

417: The Side Project Prophecy

This week, we reflect on why it is that talking about building a side project can often reduce your motivation to actually finish the project. We dig into our latest side project progress and share tips for maintaining momentum. In The Sidebar, we recap Google’s Pixel 6 event and share our hot takes on the latest phones and software announcements.

Listen →

October 20, 2021

416: UI Reviews and QA

This week, we talk about our processes for reviewing UI and making sure that things are shipping as close to spec as possible. In The Sidebar, we recap Apple’s Unleashed event, sharing our favorite moments and spicy takes.

Listen →

October 13, 2021

415: News Desk, Vol. 3

This week, we talk about the new Stripe Press website, pasting behavior in Figma, the latest tvOS UI, and the importance of using fake data in placeholder copy. In The Sidebar, we share our tools and strategies for remembering the important things that come up in our day-to-day work.

Listen →

September 29, 2021

414: Memorable Software Moments

This week, we recall our most recent “wow” moments with the products in our lives. What are yours? In The Sidebar, we talk about different loading state strategies and their impact on the user experience.

Listen →

September 22, 2021

413: Design Mentorship

This week, we talk about design mentorship: what does an effective mentor do, how to find a mentor, how to avoid giving bad career advice, and more. In The Sidebar, we talk about obsessing over the pixels, wasting time on unimportant details, and how to tell the difference between polish and procrastination.

Listen →

September 16, 2021

412: Side Project Perfectionism

This week, we talk about how we combat perfectionism in our side projects, the value of shipping, and why sharing a project too early can backfire. In the Sidebar, we recap Apple’s September event with our hot takes and spicy opinions.

Listen →

September 8, 2021

411: Follow-upisode

This week, we follow up on last week’s conversation about designing at agencies, hiring contractors, Yelp’s app icons, and Bock’s Constant. In the Sidebar, we talk about designing with your mind’s eye and how learning to brain-prototype will help fast-track your growth as a designer.

Listen →

August 25, 2021

410: Agency vs In-House Design

This week, we compare agency vs. in-house design work, dissect the tradeoffs, and share interview tips for anyone moving from an agency to a product company. In The Sidebar, we share our favorite Keynote tips and tricks and our top strategy for telling a more clear story in a deck.

Listen →

August 18, 2021

409: Twitter’s Follow Button

This week, we talk about Twitter’s new follow buttons. Are they a mistake? Or a fix for something broken that we’d all become used to? Our opinions on buttons emerge! In The Sidebar, we talk about what to do with time off.

Listen →

August 11, 2021

408: News Desk, Vol. 2

This week, we talk about Yelp’s new logo and app icons, Apple’s new child safety initiatives, and the miniature masterpieces of the Olympic pictograms. In the Sidebar, we curate practical negotiation tips, strategies, and concepts to help you through a job change.

Listen →

August 4, 2021

407: Pixel 6

This week, we talk about the new Pixel 6 announcement, how it stacks up against the competition, and what we’re most excited about. In The Sidebar, we share our design regrets: things we shipped that ended up being mistakes in hindsight.

Listen →

July 28, 2021

406: Who Leads UI Design?

This week, we dig into questions like: who should design a team’s visual style guide? And: who should break a tie in subjective aesthetic arguments? In The Sidebar, we share our tips and strategies for succeeding as a new designer in a large organization.

Listen →

July 21, 2021

405: News Desk, Vol. 1

This week, we talk about the new Microsoft emoji, a cool Android 12 feature, the joy of watching Apple iterate in public, and the new “King of Buttons” aka the Steam Deck. In The Sidebar, we talk about the challenge of having work that is NDA-locked, or never shipped at all.

Listen →

July 14, 2021

404: Visual Design and Craft ft. Justin Stahl

This week, we talk with Justin Stahl about visual design and craft, the impact of design systems and tools on the visual landscape, tactical tips for a stronger design interview, and much more. In The Sidebar, we ask Justin about the best advice he’s ever received, becoming a manager, and knowing when it’s time to switch teams.

Listen →

June 30, 2021

403: The Confidence Gradient

This week, we talk about the confidence gradient, how we’ve built confidence over time, and the funny circumstances that can take us out of our element. In The Sidebar, we share our first impressions of Windows 11 and talk about the growing convergence of operation system designs.

Listen →

June 23, 2021

402: Margin Considered Harmful

This week, we dig into the best way to think about margin and padding in your component system. In The Sidebar, we break down the basics of design advising and angel investing.

Listen →

June 12, 2021

401: Three Dots

This week, we talk about a ubiquitous design crutch: the three dot menu. We examine the spread of this pattern and discuss potential solutions to avoid it. In The Sidebar, we recap WWDC 2021 and dive deep into our favorite announcements.

Listen →

June 2, 2021

400: Is Software Ever Finished?

This week, we try to answer a simple question: is software ever finished? In The Sidebar, we talk money: compounding, investing, negotiating, planning, and more.

Listen →

May 26, 2021

399: Strong Opinions, Weakly Held

This week, we talk about how the framework "Strong Opinions, Weakly Held" can be used to effectively critique visual design. In The Sidebar, we recap Google I/O 2021, discussing our favorite announcements, Material You, and the wild future of computers.

Listen →

May 19, 2021

398: Proof of Curiosity

This week, we dig into two frameworks for leveling up at work: Proof of Curiosity and The Helpful Hierarchy. Whether you’re looking for more accountability, want to stand out in a job interview, or just want to be more intentional with your professional growth, we think these frameworks will help.

Listen →

May 12, 2021

397: Customer Feedback vs. Team Intuition

This week, we talk about the tension between building what customers explicitly ask for versus building towards a team’s internal vision. In The Sidebar, we talk about the lack of public software critique: Why isn’t there an MKBHD equivalent for software design?

Listen →

May 5, 2021

396: Career Cheat Codes

This week, we discuss the things we’ve done in our design careers that have had an outsized impact on our professional growth. In The Sidebar, we talk about the anatomy of icons and how that anatomy affects user interfaces.

Listen →

April 28, 2021

395: Config 2021

It’s event recap week! In this week’s episode we share our reactions to everything announced at Figma’s Config 2021. In The Sidebar, we dig into our favorite updates and the confusing head-scratchers announced at Apple’s Spring Loaded event.

Listen →

April 21, 2021

394: Open Source Design ft. Joey Banks

This week, we caught up with Joey Banks to talk about contributing to open source design. In the Sidebar, we ask Joey bonus questions about ramping up in a new job, the design advocate role, and being Twitter famous.

Listen →

April 14, 2021

393: The Not-So-Humble Button

This week, we talk about the hidden complexities of a designer’s favorite element: the button. In the Sidebar, we examine interfaces that defer moderation responsibilities onto the end user.

Listen →

April 7, 2021

392: Becoming a Strategic Designer

This week, we talk about how to become a more strategic designer: what should you be doing day to day, or thinking about more often? In The Sidebar, we talk about the downsides of using metaphors to describe the role of designers in building software.

Listen →

March 31, 2021

391: Portfolio Review Tips for Senior Designers

This week, we share tips and best practices for senior designers who are presenting their work in a portfolio review. In The Sidebar, we break down the qualities of great typographic hierarchy in interface design.

Listen →

March 24, 2021

390: Building Design Infrastructure ft. Kathryn Gonzalez

This week, we catch up with Kathryn Gonzalez, the Head of Design Infrastructure at DoorDash. We talk about building DoorDash’s first design system, how to scale a design systems team, balancing technical and design skills, how to become a better systems designer by learning outside of work, and much more.

Listen →

March 17, 2021

389: Better Design Reviews

This week, we talk about how to have better design reviews. Who, what, where, and when? We share our experiences, and frustrations, with certain formats and processes. In The Sidebar, we try to answer the question: WTF is up with NFTs?

Listen →

March 10, 2021

388: Design Tips and Tricks, Part 2

This week, we cover part two of our design tips and tricks series. We talk about naming conventions, thinking in divs, structuring frames, and share a few Figma pro-tips. In The Sidebar, we talk about design content overload.

Listen →

March 3, 2021

387: Design Craft Tips & Tricks

This week, we dig into specific tips and tricks to level up your craft game: how to leverage tools to make faster iterations, stay organized, and allow your mocks to easily scale over time. In The Sidebar, we dig into how to give design critique without having full problem or product context.

Listen →

February 24, 2021

386: Designing with Grid Systems

This week, we talk about designing with grid systems. In particular: when grid systems break, and what to do when they don’t align with our hardware screens perfectly. In The Sidebar, we talk all about design debt: how to work with it, pay it down, and eventually learn to accept it.

Listen →

February 17, 2021

385: Raising Your Team’s UI Bar

This week, we talk about strategies and tactical tips for elevating a team’s bar to design high quality interfaces. In The Sidebar, we talk about how to transition from web to mobile design.

Listen →

February 10, 2021

384: Finding Time for North Star Design

This week, we talk about the real struggle of finding the time to do North Star design. It’s complicated! In The Sidebar, we try to find the digital equivalent of a Norman Door.

Listen →

February 3, 2021

383: Invisible Design

This week, we talk about “invisible design” – those products and experiences that go unnoticed when present, but would be immediately noticed if absent. In The Sidebar, we react to the new Tesla Model S refresh.

Listen →

January 27, 2021

382: Designing Phygital Experiences

This week, we talk about designing experiences that weave between meatspace and screens. In The Sidebar, Marshall gives a deep dive into using modifier keys to level up your Figma productivity.

Listen →

January 20, 2021

381: Scope Creep

This week, we dive into scope creep: how to deal with it, how to avoid it, and how to build its inevitability into our workflow. In The Sidebar, Marshall shares some Smart Office tips for working at home.

Listen →

January 13, 2021

380: Designing WhatsApp ft. Priyanka Kodikal

This week, we catch up with Priyanka Kodikal, a design manager leading consumer design at WhatsApp. We talk all about her journey as a designer, and what it's like building WhatsApp. In The Sidebar, we answer a simple question: should designers learn Figma in 2020?

Listen →

January 6, 2021

379: Shipping Personal Projects

This week, we talk through our playbook for shipping personal projects. In The Sidebar, we weigh the tradeoffs of building an online persona. Should designers thought lead?

Listen →

December 23, 2020

378: 2020 Clipstravaganza!

This week, we compiled all of our cold opens, stingers, and outtakes into a single 2020 Clipstravaganza! This is our final episode for 2020 – thank you everyone for listening and supporting us this year. We'll catch you in 2021!

Listen →

December 16, 2020

377: Future-Proof Designer

This week, we talk about the skills and tools that designers can learn to become future-proof. In The Sidebar, we share our impressions, tips, and best practices for using Figma Variants.

Listen →

December 9, 2020

376: Shipping Quality UI

This week, we talk about tips and processes for shipping a high quality UI. In The Sidebar, we discuss the Silicon Valley trend of job hopping every few years.

Listen →

December 2, 2020

375: Reconsidering Consistency

This week, we talk about the tradeoffs and considerations of designing for consistency. In The Sidebar, we share tips and strategies for starting a podcast.

Listen →

November 25, 2020

374: End of the Mac Era?

This week, we discuss the future of designing on Macs. Are we moving to a PC-dominated future in the field? In The Sidebar we nit pick through the latest changes in Figma's Auto Layout v3.

Listen →

November 18, 2020

373: Designer or Developer?

This week, we discuss the career paths and tradeoffs for someone who wants to do both design and development. In The Sidebar, we recap the Mac event and share our first impressions of the new iPhones.

Listen →

November 11, 2020

372: Saving People from Themselves

This week, we brainstorm design patterns that help save people from themselves. From stopping the spread of misinformation, to saving eardrums, to screening spoilers, these design ideas are often clever and non-obvious. In the Sidebar, we discuss why radio and checkbox inputs are the way they are, and how to use them well in your designs.

Listen →

November 4, 2020

371: A Culture of Excellence

This week, we dig into practical steps for creating a culture of design excellence. In The Sidebar, we share strategies for designing adaptive interfaces that work well on any screen size.

Listen →

October 28, 2020

370: Designing for One Hand

This week, we discuss the tradeoffs and challenges of designing interfaces for one-handed use. In The Sidebar, we talk about strategies for collaborating effectively with brand and product design.

Listen →

October 21, 2020

369: Shallow Design Culture

This week, we talk about the shallow parts of design culture, where superficial work tends to generate far more attention and praise. We dig into potential solutions for this, too. In The Sidebar, we recap and share our spicy takes on the iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, and HomePod mini.

Listen →

October 14, 2020

368: Teaching Design Fundamentals

This week, we discuss strategies for teaching design fundamentals and how to make the process engaging and fun for new designers. In The Sidebar, we discuss the pain of noticing problems right before you ship.

Listen →

October 7, 2020

367: Effective Brainstorming

This week, we talk about how to have effective brainstorms: what does good prep look like, and what should be done alone or with a group? In The Sidebar, we share our spicy takes about brutalism in interface design.

Listen →

September 30, 2020

366: Closing the Gap to Senior

This week, we discuss options for designers to close the gap to becoming a senior. In The Sidebar we try to identify what is the duct tape of design.

Listen →

September 23, 2020

365: UX Research ft. Danae Holmes

This week, we sat down with Danae Holmes, a UX researcher at YouTube Gaming to talk about everything UX research. We dig into research methodologies, effective collaboration with design, tips to get better at user research, the future of the field, and so much more.

Listen →

September 16, 2020

364: How to Design Better Settings

This week, we deep dive into tips and strategies for building a better settings experience in your product. In The Sidebar, we discuss the efficacy of paginating onboarding screens.

Listen →

September 9, 2020

363: How to Talk to Users

This week, we dive into the details of having effective user research sessions, sharing tips and strategies to get more value out of customer conversations. In The Sidebar, Marshall explains his work journaling process to capture better day-to-day notes.

Listen →

September 2, 2020

362: What Do Designers Even Do All Day?

This week, we try to answer one very simple question: what do designers even do all day? In The Sidebar, we discuss when and where to use system defaults versus creating a custom UI.

Listen →

August 27, 2020

361: Building Things You Use

This week, we weigh the pros and cons of working on a product that you love to use every day. Is it really so bad to be your own power user? In The Sidebar, we discuss steps to take when exploring vague problem areas.

Listen →

August 19, 2020

360: Measuring Success in Interface Design

This week, we answer two listener questions – bonus question in The Sidebar! In the first, we discuss text contrast, accessibility, and winning arguments. In the second, we work out what it means to measure success in interface design.

Listen →

August 12, 2020

359: Design Systems and Creativity

This week, we discuss a listener question about the tension between design systems and creativity. Do design systems destroy creativity, or simply get the boring parts of our work out of the way? In The Sidebar, we discuss the challenges in sharing North Star design visions across teams.

Listen →

August 5, 2020

358: Design and Venture Capital

This week, we caught up with Bobby Goodlatte and Josh Williams, two designers-turned-investors who recently announced Form Capital, an early-stage venture fund. In this episode we talk about the path to starting a fund, whether founders should live in the Bay Area, and share advice to designers who are interested in starting their own company someday.

Listen →

July 29, 2020

357: GPT-3 and the Future of Design

This week, we talk about the recently-unveiled GPT-3 AI tool and the implications of AI for design. In The Sidebar, we discuss HUD design in video games, nerding out on diegesis, skeuomorphism, and more.

Listen →

July 22, 2020

356: Becoming a Product Manager ft. Cemre Güngör

This week, we caught up with [Cemre Güngör](https://twitter.com/gem_ray) to talk about transitioning from design to product management, the tension between the roles of PD and PM, why products fail, and so much more. In The Sidebar, we discuss the most over- and under-rated skills for PMs.

Listen →

July 15, 2020

355: Should I Be a Product Manager?

This week, we attempt to answer the age-old question every designer will someday face: should I be a product manager? In this week's Sidebar, we share our first impressions of macOS Big Sur, covering our favorite changes and what we hope to see updated before public release.

Listen →

July 8, 2020

354: Designing on a Visa ft. Yitong Zhang

This week, we caught up with Yitong Zhang to talk about what it's like to navigate the visa process in the US. We dig into the details of different work visas, the constraints they impose on designers, and what is changing in the current processes. This, plus bonus questions and cool things as always!

Listen →

July 1, 2020

353: WWDC 2020

This week, we go deep down the WWDC rabbit hole to dissect the latest design details coming from Apple HQ. We also share our spicy takes on the new macOS icons in this week's sidebar.

Listen →

June 24, 2020

352: Building a Better Design Industry ft. Maurice Cherry

This week, we caught up with Maurice Cherry to talk about design podcasting, building an agency from scratch, and the current state of diversity in design. Maurice is a designer, podcaster, creative strategist, agency founder, writer, speaker, and much more.

Listen →

June 17, 2020

351: Accessibility Gut Checks

This week, we share some accessibility gut checks that designers should think through before moving into high fidelity mocks. We also talk about industrial design and video game hardware in this week's Sidebar, plus we share our cool things as always!

Listen →

June 10, 2020

350: Designing Misused Features

This week, we talk about weaponizing hashtags, co-opting social media movements, and solving hard problems in product design. Spoiler: hard problems are hard. This, plus The Sidebar, some follow up, and cool things as always.

Listen →

June 3, 2020

349: Black Lives Matter

This week, we can't record a podcast talking about pixels and software design. The world is hurting, and the best thing we can do right now is direct people to the resources and organizations that are able to have the most impact in black communities. Please consider reading, learning, introspecting, and donating this week.

Listen →

May 27, 2020

348: Getting Unstuck

This week, we share some tips for getting unstuck when working on complicated design problems. We also share our home screen organization philosophies in The Sidebar, catch up on Tweets, and share our cool things as always.

Listen →

May 20, 2020

347: Overcoming Skill Gaps

This week, we talk about how to overcome skill gaps. What should you do if you are bad at visual design? What if you can't make icons? Should you play into strengths or develop upon your weaknesses? We explore these topics, and more!

Listen →

May 13, 2020

346: Quality Software

This week, we discuss the characteristics of high quality software. We do our best to organize and outline things to pay attention to that will help you ship better software. This, plus a Sidebar discussing how to handle negative feedback from customers, and cool things as always!

Listen →

May 6, 2020

345: Developing Taste

This week, we discuss what it means to have and develop taste. From software to fashion, styles change, trends come and go, so what does it mean to be tasteful? In The Sidebar, we discuss the hacker mindset and building for an audience of one. This, plus cool things like a handy iPhone app and a killer new VR game!

Listen →

April 29, 2020

344: Knowing When to Give Up a Fight

This week, we try to figure out the right time to give up on a fight when collaborating with stakeholders who have different opinions and priorities. We also cover a lot of feedback this week, discuss new design resources in The Sidebar, and share our cool things of the week.

Listen →

April 22, 2020

343: Over and Undervalued Design Skills

This week, we introduce a new supporter-only show segment, The Sidebar. Each week we'll be sharing a story, pro-tip, shortcut, or design-related cool thing. Supporters on Patreon will hear the first story today! We also discuss the most over and undervalued design skills, including feedback from folks on Twitter.

Listen →

April 15, 2020

342: Critiquing Our Early Work

This week, we dig into the dregs of our portfolios to critique some of earliest design work. We try to look for indicators of taste and fundamentals, but ultimately have a good laugh about our early mocks. We'd love to see your early work too, so share it with us on Twitter this week!

Listen →

April 8, 2020

341: Counterintuitive User Experiences

This week, we talk about counterintuitive user experiences that designers regularly design for in our day to day work. Let us know what we missed! As always, we catch up on feedback, tweets, and share our cool things of the week: a blog post explaining how to polish an interface, and a YouTube series about first-time reactions.

Listen →

April 1, 2020

340: Versioning and Handoff in Figma

This week, we share our tips and tricks for staying organized in Figma, simplifying the engineering handoff, and not getting bogged down in pages hell. This, plus some follow up, cool things, and a little social distancing check-in.

Listen →

March 25, 2020

339: The New iPadOS Cursor

This week, we dissect the newest iPad Pro and its new adaptive cursor, speculating on the future of cursor-touch hybrid interactions. Marshall also shares early feedback on a new prototyping tool and we find escapism in our cool things.

Listen →

March 18, 2020

338: Passive Income and How To Give Advice (feat. Meg Lewis)

This week, we catch up with Meg Lewis, a designer, coach, writer, speaker, business-owner, podcaster, and all-around fun human being. We talk about building passive income streams, how to give advice, having strong opinions, and facing public criticism – among many other things. And as always, we share our cool things of the week included a very timely hygiene product, new mobile apps, and a YouTube playlist.

Listen →

March 11, 2020

337: The Metagame of Design

This week, we discuss the metagame of product design, thinking out loud about the skills we do in between the craft work that help us to be more effective, have more impact, and grow faster in our careers. As always, we dig into followup, talk about some *fleet*ing news, and share our cool things of the week!

Listen →

March 4, 2020

336: Learning by Doing

This week, we discuss practical tips to level up your visual interface design skills, including tracing and focusing on a "learning by doing" mindset. And as always, we share our cool finds of the week including a new notes application and a creative TV show.

Listen →

February 26, 2020

335: Giving Better Upward Feedback

This week, we discuss strategies for giving better upward feedback to senior designers. We also share our thoughts on how to name your spacing components, list our favorite design podcasts, and as always, share this week's cool things for your eyes and computer.

Listen →

February 19, 2020

334: Keylines and Scannable Designs

This week, we discuss key lines, design tokens, and how to make your designs look consistent across all devices. We also discuss a compelling new design tool, add some listener follow-up to last week's discussion on self reviews, and discuss the pros and cons of using Sign in with Apple. As always, we share our cool things of the week, this time featuring a retroactive cooking show and a delightful way to enjoy movies a second time through.

Listen →

February 12, 2020

333: Writing an Effective Self Review

This week, we discuss the ins-and-outs of writing an effective self review: What should you talk about? How important is it? What does a bad self review look like? As always, we share our cool things of the week, this time including a new provider for Marshall's favorite esport, and a movie that is "cool" or...something.

Listen →

February 5, 2020

332: Creating layouts: Design vs Implementation

This week, we get deep into the weeds on creating layouts with Sketch's Smart Layout and Figma's Auto Layout, and compare the experience with implementing layouts in CSS and SwiftUI. This is a detailed exploration at the pros and cons of each toolset, and we try to find takeaways that can help us reconcile the wildly different mental models for each. As always, we share our cool things of this week including a content-blocking Safari extension and a novel about a cyberpunk future in which a trailer park girl and her cat decide the fate of humankind.

Listen →

January 29, 2020

331: The Designer-Developer Handoff

This week, we answer two listener questions about designer-developer handoff. We dig into questions like: What does a good developer handoff look like? What information should it contain? What are systems to make the handoff more efficient for everyone involved? As always, we share our cool finds of the week, this time including a return of the 6-second video format and a useful language learning app.

Listen →

January 22, 2020

330: Twitter Tips for Designers

This week, we talk about how to be meaningfully involved with the design community on Twitter. We share tips for finding people to follow, what to tweet about, and we dig into the value of building online connections with other designers. As always, we share our cool things for the week, including some futuristic-yet-spooky technology emerging in China, and a top-notch film production company.

Listen →

January 15, 2020

329: Web vs Product Design

This week, we dig into a three-part listener question about the difference between web and product design, collaborating with print designers, and what it takes to become a unicorn in 2020. As always, we share our cool things of the week, like a subreddit that will make you cry and a website that lets you edit its design.

Listen →

January 8, 2020

328: Thinking About 2020

In this first episode of the new decade, we look ahead to 2020 and enumerate some personal and professional goals for the year to come. And as always, we share some cool things (this week, with the help of a listener and VIP Patron!), including an IRL magazine, a couple grumpy websites, and the final season of a show.

Listen →

December 18, 2019

327: Organizing Component Systems

In this week's episode, we follow up on a bunch of your tweets, and then we get super semantic about naming conventions and component organization. And as always, we share a couple cool things like a vehicle upgrade and a feed reader.

Listen →

December 11, 2019

326: Design Tools Today

In this week's episode, we discuss the state of our industry's current design tools—especially in comparison to the tools available to other disciplines—and we speculate about what those tools could look like in the years to come. In News, we compare notes on Figma's newly released Auto Layout feature. And as always, we share a couple cool things like a flashcard app and a peek behind the park.

Listen →

December 4, 2019

325: Changing Roles in a Growing Company

In this week's episode, we go to our patrons for a couple listener questions: one about adapting to shifting roles as a company rapidly grows, and one about the balance between creativity and meeting business needs. And as always, we share a couple cool things like a Star Wars series and privacy-based analytics.

Listen →

November 27, 2019

324: Interface Design and the Physical World

In this week's episode, we riff on a listener question about the influence of the physical world on digital interfaces, and we end up covering everything from video game controllers to sliders and shiny buttons. And as always, we share a couple cool things like a fun dramedy and another sci-fi novel.

Listen →

November 20, 2019

323: Designing Social Proof

In this week's episode we dive into the murky waters of designing social proof in social networks. From upvotes to view counts, reputation to badges, there are a wide array of tools and patterns at a designer's disposal to communicate quality and popularity. But these patterns each have their own drawbacks, tradeoffs, and vectors for abuse. We dig into these, and more. Plus, as always, we share our cool finds for the week, this time featuring a Figma plugin and a beautiful indie video game.

Listen →

November 13, 2019

322: Designing App Onboarding Experiences

This week, we dive deep into the perils and triumphs of designing an onboarding experience for mobile. Strap in for a big brain dump as we discuss everything from App Store screenshots to sign-in methods to device permissions to user education. And as always, we share a couple cool things like a privacy-minded daily read and a post-post-apocalyptic streaming series.

Listen →

November 6, 2019

321: Illustrations and the Side Effects of Free Resources (feat. Meg Robichaud & Ryan Putnam)

This week, we're joined by Meg Robichaud and Ryan Putnam—incredible illustrators working at Lyft and Messenger, respectively—to follow up on a topic from last week's episode. Meg and Ryan share some of their experiences working as illustrators on product teams, and they shed a little light on how free resources can sometimes have a negative impact on illustration as a valued discipline. And as always, we share some cool things like a collection of essays, some creepy VHS tapes, a couple radio plays, a new Netflix series, and another design podcast.

Listen →

October 30, 2019

320: The Path of a Generalist (feat. Pablo Stanley)

This week, the prolific Pablo Stanley joins us to talk about his path following a wide range of interests (including but not limited to architecture, music, fashion, comics, illustration, and design), and he shares his thoughts about the controversy surrounding his Open Doodles project and Design Twitter's reaction to it. And as always, we share some cool things, like a new video game, a creative portfolio site, and a tearjerking doctor show.

Listen →

October 23, 2019

319: Content Strategy and Designing with Language (feat. Jonathon Colman)

In today's episode we sat down with Jonathon Colman, a Senior Design Manager at Intercom, to talk about all things content. We dig into Jonathon's background and path into design, the role of content in user experience design, how content strategy and product design should work together, the future of AI and machine learning in content strategy, and so much more. That, plus our cool things of the week, as always!

Listen →

October 16, 2019

318: Death of the Designer Unicorn

In this week's episode, we answer a listener question about why product teams aren't comprised of more "unicorns," and we discuss a Twitter thread that questions whether being a hands-off design leader makes you less of a designer. And as always, we share a couple cool things, including a strangely amazing band and an ultimate guide.

Listen →

October 9, 2019

317: Designing for Dark Mode

In this week's episode, we dive deep into the murky depths of Dark Mode, discussing everything from OLED smearing and halation to tinting and elevation. Plus we read the results of the Twitter poll in which we asked you about your preferred dark background color. And as always, we share a some cool things like a crazy creative talk, a painting app for iPad, and a ridiculous illustrator.

Listen →

October 2, 2019

316: The Convergence of iOS and Android

In this week's episode, we dive deep on Android 10's new gestural navigation and how it compares to iOS, finally get around to talking a bit about the September Apple Event, and answer a listener question about what it means to be more proactive. And as always, we share a couple cool things like a new reality TV and some ever-comfy t-shirts.

Listen →

September 25, 2019

315: Building a Listener-Supported Podcast

In this week's episode, we discuss the next evolution of Design Details towards becoming a fully listener-supported podcast. We share some background on the decision, our goals, and what's in it for you dear listener, if you are able to support this podcast. All this, plus follow up, a bit of news, and our weekly cool things as always.

Listen →

September 18, 2019

314: Beauty, Vulnerability, and Doing Things That Matter (feat. Haraldur Thorleifsson)

This week, we catch up with Haraldur Thorleifsson, the founder, CEO, and social media intern at Ueno. In today's conversation, we cover everything from burnout to why designers should be thinking about solving more meaningful problems. We dig into the current and future plans for Ueno, the function of beauty in design, whether Halli wants to be famous, and finding catharsis on Twitter. And as always, we share some cool things like a TV show, a book, and yet-to-be-released physical products.

Listen →

September 11, 2019

313: Design Process Automation

This week, we answer a couple listener questions—which design automation tools we use and how to efficiently look for a job—and rattle off a few things we'd like to see announced at the September Apple Event. And as always, we share a couple cool things like a 64-button mashup and a state-of-the-art mouse.

Listen →

September 4, 2019

312: Managing a Design Systems Team (feat. Diana Mounter)

In today's episode, Diana Mounter, who manages the design infrastructure at GitHub, helps us dive deep into a listener question about the role and expectations of a design systems manager. And we have a big round of cool things this week, including three books, an album, and a plugin.

Listen →

August 28, 2019

311: Visuals in Product Design

This week, we answer a few listener questions, including what constitutes a good visual design experience, when to put case studies on your site, and when to battle bureaucracy at the office. And as always, we share some cool things, like a couple interesting YouTube channels, one that reviews visual effects and one that makes gaming documentaries.

Listen →

August 21, 2019

310: Work, Culture, and Experimentation at a Product Design Agency (feat. Skyler Balbus)

In today's episode we catch up with Skyler Balbus, the Director of Product Design at Postlight. We dig into what it means to build products within the agency model, the decision to move from working in-house to working with clients, and how to build a culture where designers can experiment freely. Skyler also shares her ideas for how to build a strong design culture within an agency, tips for junior designers in the hiring process, and ways to build effective feedback loops within an organization. This, plus our weekly followup, news, and cool things!

Listen →

August 14, 2019

309: Career Progression for Product Designers

This week, we look at how a product designer's career advances. We discuss the common themes and growth areas that companies use to measure progression, suggest questions you can ask yourself to assess your progress, read through some of your replies on the subject, and offer up several resources for diving deeper and learning more. And as always, we share a couple cool things, like a typeface designed for UI and an app to budget your money.

Listen →

August 7, 2019

308: Learning Design as a Developer

This week, we answer a couple listener questions, including how to get started learning design as a developer and how to reconcile icons on different platforms. In News, we discuss the launch of Figma Plugins, and as always, we share a couple cool things, like gourmet junk food and vaporwave jams.

Listen →

July 31, 2019

307: iOS 13 Beta

This week, we take an early look at the fourth iOS 13 Developer Beta and discuss some of the new features, interactions, and patterns we've noticed. We also answer a few listener questions, including how big a prototype should be, when to expand your skillset, and how to intentionally grow as a designer. And as always, we a share a couple cool things, like a prolific Quora answerer and a novel series discovered through an online class.

Listen →

July 24, 2019

306: Is Ego Getting in the Way of Accessibility?

In today's episode we dig into two listener questions about when to use toggles versus checkboxes, and the current state of accessibility in product design. We also share a big milestone for the podcast, get caught up on some news, and as always, share our cool finds of the week.

Listen →

July 17, 2019

305: From Team to Solo Designer (feat. Michie Cao)

This week, we welcome to the show Michie Cao, formerly of Twitter and currently the sole designer at Sisu. Michie tells us all about her experience of working at both a large corporation and a small startup, and she shares some pros and cons of each situation along with some great advice for solo designers. And as always, we end the show with a few cool things, like a pair of music videos, the new coloring for adults, and a podcast about one breathtaking man.

Listen →

July 10, 2019

304: Interviewing the Interviewer

This week, we keep it short and answer a few listener questions, including how to align text to a grid, how to handle an interview at a company that uses dark patterns, and how to account for suboptimal company processes when assembling portfolio work. And as always, we share a couple cool things like a pair of crazy tech gloves and some award-winning coffee paraphernalia.

Listen →

July 3, 2019

303: Building Design Teams (feat. Stacy La)

This week, we welcome to the show Stacy La, formerly of Clover Health and currently the product and design lead on the Prevent Epidemics Team at Resolve to Save Lives. Stacy shares with us some of the challenges and triumphs of building a large design team from scratch, and we get into the details of designing for such serious, high-stakes product areas. And as always, we end the show with a few cool things, like a guide to creativity, a channel that answers interesting questions, and a subscription coffee service.

Listen →

June 26, 2019

302: Designing Dark Patterns

This week, inspired by a tweet from Daniel Burka, we tackle the thorny but important question of who is ultimately accountable for the implementation of a product's dark patterns. Is Design responsible? Engineering? Leadership? All of the above? In Listener Questions, we answer how to design on an iPad and how to apply an even grid to an odd screen. And as always, we share a couple cool things like some SVG icons and a modded Apple TV remote.

Listen →

June 19, 2019

301: Android vs. iOS

This week, we answer a few listener questions, including the difference between the philosophies behind the Android and iOS design systems and why we prefer an 8pt grid. In News, Brian gives a quick rundown on Figma's new Plugins Beta. And as always, we share a couple cool things like some isometric dioramas and a modular key and wallet system.

Listen →

June 12, 2019

300: Looking Back on 300 Episodes

This week we reflect on 300 episodes of Design Details. We recount the origin story, answering listener questions as we go about how we've managed to maintain the schedule for so long, the high and low points, and future plans for the podcast. And as always, we share a couple cool things like a new music discovery app and Marshall's favorite book of all time.

Listen →

June 5, 2019

299: Balancing Management and IC Work

This week, we answer a listener question about the balance of being both a manager and an individual contributor, which leads to some more existential conversation about sharing what we think we know and the fear of being wrong loudly in public. And as always, we share a couple cool things like a Marvel movie pitch and an addictive reality show (and Marshall shares the rough skeleton of his screenplay idea).

Listen →

May 29, 2019

298: Designing a Design Curriculum

This week, we answer a listener question about designing a design curriculum and another about where the line is between a visual redesign and experience redesign. And as always, we share a couple cool things like a playlist of experts and an action film series.

Listen →

May 22, 2019

297: Day-to-Day Design Struggles

This week, we take a break from talking about high-level design problems and dive into the specific struggles we find ourselves running into lately, including pushing through the last ten percent, maintaining multiple realities, gaining stakeholder buy-in, and designing around moving targets. And as always, we share a couple cool things like a science-fiction page-turner and a thought-provoking video series.

Listen →

May 15, 2019

296: Google I/O

This week we dig into the latest and greatest announcements from this year's Google I/O. We talk through our top highlights like new privacy controls, Android Q improvements, and a solid new budget Pixel phone. And as always, we share our cool finds of the week, like a behind-the-scenes feature film on the creation of God of War, and a news application to help you read and understand what's happening in the world.

Listen →

May 8, 2019

295: Public Critique and The Facebook Redesign

This week, we discuss the usefulness of public design critiques, given Brian's eventful week of tweeting stuff. Then we dive deep on the new Facebook redesign, especially the details of the desktop version. And as always, we share a couple cool things like a financial app and a sneaker channel.

Listen →

May 1, 2019

294: Designing UX for Games (feat. Tea Chang) (& Endgame Discussion)

This week, we welcome Tea Chang, a UX Designer working on League of Legends at Riot Games, to talk about designing user experiences for gamers. At the end of the show, Tea sticks around for a long, spoiler-filled discussion of *Avengers: Endgame*. In Follow-up, we read and respond to your feedback regarding the cover art concept from last week. And as always, we share a few cool things, like a video series about movies, some state-specific branding, and a little indie film about superheroes. Spoilers spoilers spoilers. Spoilers.

Listen →

April 24, 2019

293: Is AR a Gimmick?

This week, we bring back the Fight Me segment with a debate on the usefulness of augmented reality in apps. Is it a gimmick or not? In Follow-up, we debut a proposal for our new cover art, and we shout out Linzi Berry's latest blog post. And as always, we share a couple cool things like an addictive game and a bizarre novel.

Listen →

April 17, 2019

292: Building Design Systems (feat. Linzi Berry)

This week, we welcome to the show Linzi Berry, a manager on Lyft's design system. Linzi enlightens us on how to implement, maintain, enforce, evangelize, and roll out a design system, and we discuss her super informative design blog, Tap to Dismiss. In Follow-up, we debate some Episode 300 suggestions, revisit the Figma UI refresh, and shout out a quality-of-life improvement in Sketch 54. And as always, we (all three of us!) share some cool things, including a historic photo, a video to help understand that photo, and an update on the Bobiverse.

Listen →

April 10, 2019

291: Figma's UI Redesign and Public Critique

This week, we discuss Figma's UI redesign, the public response to it, and how to effectively communicate negative feedback to both companies and colleagues. In Follow-up, Brian has an update on a previous Cool Thing, we read some listener feedback (all positive, phew!), and Marshall shares his choice of AirPower replacement. And as always, we share a couple cool things, like a fellow designer's website and a new music album.

Listen →

April 3, 2019

290: Transitioning to Product Design

This week, we answer listener questions, including how to transition from engineering to product design, how to wrap up before moving to a new company, and what we think of apps that allow you to change the launch icon. In Follow-up, we read some listener feedback about last episode, and Marshall fills in a couple details on his file organization tips. In News, we lament the untimely death of AirPower (rip rip). And as always, we share a couple cool things like a sci-fi movie and a sci-fi book trilogy.

Listen →

March 27, 2019

289: Design File Hygiene

This week, Marshall offers a few simple tips for tidying up your source files, and we answer a listener question about when to move on from a company. In News, we shout out a new resource from the maker of Laws of UX. And as always, we share a couple cool things like a browser for neoworkers and an article about the Omnibox.

Listen →

March 20, 2019

288: Articulating Design Rationale

This week, we answer a listener question about articulating design rationale during presentations. We also shared some exciting news from the Sketch team and recapped feedback from last week's episode where we pulled back the curtain on Design Details. And as always, we share a couple cool things like a fancy toothbrush and a design interview FAQ.

Listen →

March 13, 2019

287: A Peek Behind the Curtain

This week, we pull back the curtain on Design Details itself and share how we think about iterating toward a better podcast. In Follow-up, we hear back about our Spectre critique from last episode, and we discover listeners *do* listen until the end. And as always, we share a couple cool things like a fancy toilet seat and a design interview FAQ.

Listen →

March 6, 2019

286: Bask in the Awkwardness

This week, we debut our App Launch segment by kindly critiquing the design details of Spectre, a new app from the folks behind Halide. In Follow-up, we discuss knowing when to shut up in a negotiation, and in Industry Talk, we debate when it's okay to break the rules of affordances. And as always, we share a couple cool things like a new home and some creative music videos.

Listen →

February 27, 2019

285: Deadly American Idol

This week, we discuss spoken accents, answer a listener question about salary negotiations, and Marshall dives deep into the design of Apex Legends. And as always, we share a couple cool things, like a hip hop album and a way to bring joy back to your Twitter timeline.

Listen →

February 20, 2019

284: Stone Soup

This week, we answer more listener questions, including what software the industry uses, how to get involved in open-source projects, and how to curate a large portfolio. In News, we compare our scores on a design-based spot-the-difference quiz. And as always, we share a couple cool things, like another Netflix Original and some awesome designer directories.

Listen →

February 13, 2019

283: Timefoolery

This week, we answer a couple listener questions, including how to reliably align text to a baseline grid, and how to use data to learn from the features you ship. In News, Marshall extols the virtues of a little feature in the recently-released Sketch 53 update. And as always, we share a couple cool things, like a mind-bending Netflix show and an accessibility-focused pull request.

Listen →

February 6, 2019

282: Flow State

This week, we look to Twitter for answers to the eternal question: "How do I find time to design despite tons of meetings, context shifting, and an open office layout?" In News, we detail some exciting ideas in an iOS 13 design concept. And as always, we share a couple cool things, like a spiritual successor to MySpace and a rollable television.

Listen →

January 30, 2019

281: Steady Habit

This week, we review a listener side project called Steady Habit, an iPhone app made by Sandor Gyuris. And as always, we share a couple cool things, including an expensive way to make your teeth hurt and some upcoming plans.

Listen →

January 23, 2019

280: Steve Jobs Shoulder Buddy

This week, we discuss your tweets on how to git gud (and stay gud) at visual design. And as always, we share a couple Cool Things, including a hilarious pop culture reviewer.

Listen →

January 16, 2019

279: TWIGBY

This week, we discuss performance reviews and promotions, including how to prepare, what to spotlight, and when to self-nominate (along with a few tips and tricks). In News, we talk about Chloe Condon's recent ordeal and how technology affects truth—heavy, sorry—and we look at Twitter's latest threaded replies experiment. And as always, we share a couple cool things like a movie conspiracy theory and a legendary brainstorm transcript.

Listen →

January 9, 2019

278: Dice Gamble

In this first episode of 2019, Brian explains online security to Marshall as though he is a five-year-old, covering everything from DNSs to VPNs. In Follow-up, we read a few listener tweets, and as always, we share a couple Cool Things, including a misused city simulator and a social network for movie buffs.

Listen →

December 19, 2018

277: Dribbble Stories (feat. Zack Onisko)

In this final episode of 2018, we speak with Zack Onisko, CEO of Dribbble, about our speculation regarding signup walls and the future of the platform. In News, we dissect Dark Mode triggering methods. And as always, we share a couple cool things, including a personalized music recap and a YouTube channel that rewrites superhero movies.

Listen →

December 12, 2018

276: Hidden Shortcuts, Formal Educations, and "Builders"

This week, we answer three listener questions: one about hidden shortcuts, one about the line between designer and developer, and one about the necessity of a design degree. And as always, we share a couple cool things, like a trailer a few people have seen and a channel that make videos about speedrun progressions.

Listen →

December 5, 2018

275: Now, That's One Smart Home!

This week, Marshall explains his smart home setup to Brian in great detail. In News, Brian reveals an exciting development with Spectrum. And as always, we share a couple cool things, including an Advent calendar for programming puzzles and a thing everybody already knows about.

Listen →

November 28, 2018

274: Well... It's Free ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

This week, we discuss sign-in walls and the design patterns behind offering free-ish content on the Internet. In News, we praise Samsung's new One UI for its strict adherence to Fitts' Law. And as always, we share a couple cool things, including a video game competition and a major update to a podcast app.

Listen →

November 14, 2018

273: Bespoke, Artisanal, Single-Batch Blog Post

This week, we talk about the uncanny sameness of the web and debate uniqueness in site design. In News, we discuss the pros and cons of sharing your early, in-progress work with non-designer colleagues. And as always, we share a couple cool things, including an immersive gaming experience and a new feature proposal for React.

Listen →

November 7, 2018

272: Stupid Mountain

This week, we debate the use of the term "junior" and look back on Stupid Mountain from the Valley of Doubt. In News, we discuss the announcements from the latest Apple event, including the new iPad Pro product page. And in Cool Things, Brian shares a thorough article on Apple's Maps improvements, and Marshall rants about keyboard shortcuts.

Listen →

October 31, 2018

271: Principles of Design

This week, we dive deep on several design principles that will help you make better decisions when creating interfaces and interactions. In Follow-up, we discuss the etiquette of responding to recruiter emails, and in News, we cover Twitter's latest exploration into presence and status. And as always, we share a couple cool things, including an innovative basketball shoe and an updated personal site.

Listen →

October 24, 2018

270: Onward Into the Dark

This week, we discuss the tradeoffs of sensor-laden home devices and the future of personalized advertising. We also follow up on Morgan's tweetstorm with a chat about "dream jobs" and navigating workplace politics. In cool things, Brian shares a workout tracking app and Marshall is bullish on shoes.

Listen →

October 17, 2018

269: The Ignorance-Is-Bliss Thing

This week, we discuss Morgan Knutson's tweetstorm regarding his time working on the sunsetting Google+, and we extract some nuggets of wisdom worth exploring, especially negotiating one's starting compensation at a new job. Then we share a couple cool things, including another little Mac productivity utility and a beautifully useful camera app for iOS.

Listen →

October 10, 2018

268: I Want It That Way

This week, we discuss user preferences and whether a lot is too much. In News, we talk about Sketch's new site, recap the Figma contest, and conduct a requiem for Path. And as always, we share a couple cool things, including a wireless mesh network and tchotchkes in plastic bubbles.

Listen →

October 3, 2018

267: Don't Wanna Yuck Anyone's Yum

This week, we look at a few different concepts of what a car could be if you didn't need to drive it. In News, we discuss the new Mailchimp redesign and Design+Code for Framer X. And we share a couple Cool Things, including a few Google Translate features and some fancy lights that you stick behind your television.

Listen →

September 26, 2018

266: Stay Warm Out There, Tauntaun

This week, we debate the line between constructive and malevolent criticism, discuss some sunsetting news, and briefly preview the new Sketch beta. And as always, we share a couple cool things, including a Reddit app alternative and a logistical nightmare.

Listen →

September 19, 2018

265: Travel Edition

This week, we're both trotting the globe in Japan and China, so we discuss some interesting accessibility features we've encountered during our travels. And Apple had a event announcing new iPhones and a new Watch, so (of course) we talk about that stuff.

Listen →

September 12, 2018

264: Oven Mittens

This week, we answer two listener questions about designing for the tech-unsavvy and providing value as an inexperienced designer. In news, we discuss the latest anniversary set from Ugmonk and a new audio-only feature from Periscope. Lastly, we wrap up with cool things, including a ridiculously thorough typeface and a utility that remembers your window layouts.

Listen →

September 5, 2018

263: News, News, and More News

This week, we discuss a bunch of news, including a Twitter reply threading concept, a new Apple Watch face, Principle 4.0, and Chrome with a Material Design 2 overhaul. Then we share a couple cool things: Marshall is hype on an upcoming game, and Brian invites you to test your typography chops.

Listen →

August 29, 2018

262: Taste Acquisition (feat. Iheanyi Ekechukwu)

This week, we talk with Iheanyi Ekechukwu about his side project Seeker, starting from scratch at a new gig, and the best advice he's ever gotten. Then we share a few cool things, including a tracing library, a decentralized phone, and a Mac utility.

Listen →

August 22, 2018

261: Reverse Midas

This week, Brian and Marshall debate the iteration period between whiteboard sketches and high-fidelity mocks. In news, Discord announces a store, Breaker announces a podcast marketplace, and Refactoring UI is going to be a book. Finally, a couple cool things like a wall-mounted home gym and a book about capturing attention.

Listen →

August 15, 2018

260: Mutual Admiration Society

This week, Brian explains React to Marshall like he's five, we recap some highlights from the Zeit React meetup, and then discuss the eternal quandary that is password management.

Listen →

August 8, 2018

259: Everything Is a Spec

This week, we recap last week's Fight Me poll results, cover some news on React and Firefox, answer a listener question about professional labels, review a listener's side project, and share a couple cool things.

Listen →

August 1, 2018

258: A Foot in the Door

This week, we debut the new format! First, Marshall formally introduces himself, and we answer a listener's question about how to get their foot in the UX door. Then we cover a few headlines, fight about stock vs. third-party apps, and share a couple cool things.

Listen →

July 25, 2018

257: Here It Goes Again

In this quick episode, we welcome Marshall Bock as a new co-host and offer a sneak peek of the show's future format.

Listen →

July 18, 2018

256: DD_final_final_FINAL.mp3 (feat. Sam Soffes)

Today's episode is our final recording with Bryn, and to send him off we had none-other than our very first Design Details guest, Sam Soffes, back on the show. In this episode we talk about side projects, celebrity, knowing when to stop working on an idea, and what's next for the three of us.

Listen →

July 11, 2018

255: Design Caretaker (feat. Charlie Sutton)

Today we caught up with Charlie Sutton, a Product Design Director at Facebook currently working on Games and Video, previously working on Social VR. In this episode we dig into the world of gaming and Facebook's involvement in the growing industry, taking on large unknown responsibilities at a young age, sticking around at companies to the bitter end, and so much more.

Listen →

July 4, 2018

254: The People's Champion (feat. Fabian Perez)

Today we caught up with Fabian Perez, the Director of Product Design at Splice, previously the Director of Product Design at GitHub. In today's episode we talk about the state of the music industry, the revolution of version control, becoming a manager at a young age, knowing when to switch jobs, and so much more.

Listen →

June 27, 2018

253: Follow The Troll Flow (feat. May-Li Khoe & Chikezie Ejiasi)

Today we sat down with May-Li Khoe and Chikezie Ejiasi to talk about building diverse teams. We dig deep into the problems of monocultures, how to think about team building as both an individual contributor and as a manager, actionable tactics to safely onboard and encourage a culture of diversity, and so much more.

Listen →

June 20, 2018

252: Furniture Nomadic (feat. Mu-An Chiou)

Today we caught up with Mu-An Chiou, a developer working on the web systems team at GitHub, previously a product designer at GitHub. In this episode we dig into what Mu-An is excited about in the world of web development and upcoming browser APIs, transitioning from product design to development, and the long journey to landing a gig at GitHub.

Listen →

June 13, 2018

251: Hip-Hop & Horses (feat. Steph Engle)

Today we caught up with Stephanie Engle, a product designer in SF currently working on self-driving cars at Cruise, previously designing social experiences in VR at Facebook. In this episode we dig into Stephanie's current work in the auto industry, and what it's like designing in-car experiences for self-driving cars. We also get into Stephanie's background as a designer, including how she found her way into the industry, how she ended up on the social VR team at Facebook, and so much more!

Listen →

June 6, 2018

250: LIVE at Combine (feat. May-Li Khoe, Katie Dill & Soleio Cuervo)

We made it! Another milestone in the Design Details archive: episode 250 🎉 For this special episode we hosted a live show with our friends May-Li Khoe, Katie Dill, and Soleio Cuervo. In the conversation we dig into hiring junior designers, how to identify talent, equity and salary negotiations, building a career rubric, and so much more. Also, a huge thank you to [Combine](https://combine.vc/) for hosting us in their beautiful new space!

Listen →

May 23, 2018

249: Hi/Lo Technical (feat. Priyanka Kodikal)

Today we caught up with Priyanka Kodikal, a product designer currently working at WhatsApp. In this episode we dig into Priyanka's work at WhatsApp and what it's like shipping to more than a billion people around the world. We also learn about Priyanka's journey from India to WhatsApp, and the winding path it took to land at her dream job.

Listen →

May 16, 2018

248: OshKoshFigJosh (feat. Josh Dunsterville)

Today we caught up with Josh Dunsterville, a designer and community manager currently building the community at Figma. In this episode we dig into Josh's work at Figma, diving deep into what it really means to grow a healthy online community. We also caught up with Josh about his journey into design, coming from a small town in Nevada to working remote for a technology company.

Listen →

May 9, 2018

247: Give A Goat A Gobstopper (feat. Kyle Turman)

Today we caught up with Kyle Turman, a product designer on the design systems team at Etsy. In this episode we dig into Kyle's work at Etsy on building seller-facing design systems, working remotely, the value of craft, and Bryn and Brian get a free therapy session.

Listen →

May 2, 2018

246: Cats & Design Systems (feat. Diana Mounter & Brent Jackson)

Today we dipped into a double-guest episode with our friends Diana Mounter and Brent Jackson! Diana and Brent are some of the best people working on design systems today, and in this episode we get to dig into the tools and workflows they've developed when working on systems, what they're excited about in design systems, and we even get technical to talk about the technologies that are change the way we build.

Listen →

April 25, 2018

245: Sandwich Principal (feat. Tom Moor)

Today we caught up with Tom Moor, a software engineer building Abstract. In this episode we dig into Tom's journey with startups, including his work at Buffer, Sqwiggle, Speak, Outline, and now Abstract. We also get to talk about Tom's current work at Abstract, evolving the design review, and so much more.

Listen →

April 18, 2018

244: Peter Piper Pizza Party (feat. Claudio Vallejo)

Today we caught up with Claudio Vallejo, a product designer currently working at Managed by Q in New York. In this episode we dig into Claudio's current work as a designer solving meat-space problems, his journey from Mexico to the United States, self discipline and burnout, and so much more.

Listen →

April 11, 2018

243: Maximum Potassium (feat. Vlad Magdalin)

Today we caught up with Vlad Magdalin, co-founder and CEO of Webflow. In this episode we dig into Vlad's history, moving from Russia to the US, his journey to Webflow, the challenges of starting up, raising money, and so much more.

Listen →

April 4, 2018

242: Traitor Joe (feat. Victor Kernes)

Today we caught up with Victor Kernes, a designer working on reversing type 2 diabetes at Virta. In this episode we dig into transitioning from marketing to design, working in the healthcare industry, advice to young designers, the traitor named Joe, and so much more.

Listen →

March 28, 2018

241: Toast, The Bread (feat. Meg Robichaud)

Today we caught up once again with our good friend Meg Robichaud. Meg draws things for money, and is currently doing so at Lyft. In this episode we dig into what she's been up to over the last two years, the journey to Lyft, freelance vs. in-house, moving to San Francisco, and so much more.

Listen →

March 21, 2018

240: Proxima Nova Revolution (feat. Hardik Pandya)

Today we caught up with Hardik Pandya, a product designer at Google in India, currently working on GSuite and Google Photos. In this episode we dig into Hardik's background and discovery of design, working from startups to Google, the design scene and tech landscape in India, and so much more.

Listen →

March 14, 2018

239: Data Ultra (feat. Lin Wang)

Today we caught up with Lin Wang, a product designer working on the Core Passenger team at Lyft. In this episode we dig into Lin's background, her journey from China to SF, moving from graphic to product design, and how she eventually landed a job at Lyft.

Listen →

March 7, 2018

238: Grocery Social (feat. Julie Delanoy)

Today we caught up with Julie Delanoy, a product designer currently building things at Product Hunt. In this episode we dig into Julie's journey to Product Hunt, working remotely, designing for communities, and so much more.

Listen →

February 28, 2018

237: Hoppy Borthdoy (feat. Hartley Miller)

Today we caught up with Hartley Miller, a product designer at Pinterest. In this episode we dig into what Hartley's working on, the ups and downs of not having a plan, finding meaning in work, and so much more.

Listen →

February 21, 2018

236: TI-85 (feat. Charlie Cheever)

Today we caught up with Charlie Cheever, the founder of [Expo](https://expo.io/), an open source toolchain that helps people build native mobile apps (which we're using to build Spectrum!). In this episode we dig into the Charlie's path to working on Expo, including building calculator games, building Facebook Platform, co-founding Quora, and so much more.

Listen →

February 14, 2018

235: Incremental Correctness (feat. Guillermo Rauch)

Today we caught up with Guillermo Rauch, the founder of Zeit. We're huge fans of Guillermo's work, his contributions to the open source community, and the work that his team is doing at Zeit to make cloud computing more accessible. In this episode we dig into Guillermo's philosophies for building products, dive into the nitty gritty technical details of JavaScript and React, learn Guillermo's favorite mental models, and so much more.

Listen →

February 7, 2018

234: Maximum Effort (feat. PJ Buddhari)

To kick off 2018 we caught up with PJ Buddhari, a product designer currently working on the design systems team at Adobe. In this episode we dig into what it takes to put together a design system across such a huge lineup of products, moving to the US, PJ's path into design, and so much more.

Listen →

January 31, 2018

233: Recapisode #4 (Looking Back at 2017)

Every year at this time we take a break and reflect on all of the wonderful conversations we've had during the past year.

Listen →

January 24, 2018

232: Recapisode #3 (Looking Back at 2017)

Every year at this time we take a break and reflect on all of the wonderful conversations we've had during the past year.

Listen →

January 17, 2018

231: Recapisode #2 (Looking Back at 2017)

Every year at this time we take a break and reflect on all of the wonderful conversations we've had during the past year.

Listen →

January 10, 2018

230: Recapisode #1 (Looking Back At 2017)

Every year at this time we take a break and reflect on all of the wonderful conversations we've had during the past year.

Listen →

January 3, 2018

229: Graphic DeSpyner (feat. Christina Nguyen)

Today we caught up with Christina Nguyen, a designer in San Francisco currently working on [Guilded](https://www.guilded.gg/). In this episode we get nostalgic about video games, talk about balancing hobbies and work when they overlap, going from dream job to startup, and so much more.

Listen →

December 27, 2017

228: Empathy & Impostors (feat. Coleen Baik)

Today we caught up with Coleen Baik, an independent designer and advisor en route to NYC via SF. In this episode we talk about Coleen's path into design, her work at Twitter, the responsibilities of designing at scale, expanding perspectives by traveling to North Korea, and so much more.

Listen →

December 20, 2017

227: Hype Down (feat. Kathleen Warner)

Today we caught up with Kathleen Warner, a product designer working at Facebook on the newsfeed team. In this episode we dig into Kathleen's path from music to product design, music production, getting to Facebook, and so much more.

Listen →

December 13, 2017

226: Mood Lightning (feat. Rafael Conde)

Today we caught up with Rafael Conde, a designer at Netlify and co-host of the Layout podcast. In this episode we talk about our own existential crises, the paths of ICs and managers, Rafa's story and journey to design, and so much more.

Listen →

December 6, 2017

225: D.D.P.D. (feat. Zach Johnston)

Today we caught up with Zach Johnston, a designer currently working on the design system at Dropbox. In this episode we talk about design systems, the role of a design system team, Zach's journey to and within Dropbox, and so much more.

Listen →

November 29, 2017

224: Maybe It's The Carrots? (feat. Courtland Allen)

Today we caught up with Courtland Allen, the creator of Indie Hackers. In this episode we dig into Courtland's background in engineering, design, and product building, how he ended up creating Indie Hackers, the journey to the Stripe acquisition, and so much more.

Listen →

November 15, 2017

223: Demystified Denim (feat. Jessica Karle)

Today we caught up with Jess Karle, the head of digital design at Everlane. In this episode we dig into Jess's work at the intersection of retail and e-commerce, hiring a design team, navigating startups to big-co, and so much more.

Listen →

November 8, 2017

222: Almost as Good as Cheese (feat. Fiona Rolander)

Today we caught up with Fiona Rolander, a designer currently doing work at Spotify. In this episode we dig into Fiona's journey to becoming a designer, the ups and downs of freelancing, nomading, cheese, and so much more!

Listen →

November 1, 2017

221: Rate The Fire (feat. Chikezie Ejiasi)

Today we caught up with Chikezie Ejiasi, a designer currently working on Daydream at Google. In this episode we dig into building for VR, moving from softwared to hardware to virtual reality, design tooling, career navigation, and so much more.

Listen →

October 25, 2017

220: Turtle Tiles (feat. Melody Quintana)

Today we caught up with Melody Quintana, a designer and writer currently working at Dropbox. In this episode we dive into Melody's work on Dropbox Home, moving from content strategy to design, finding the Goldilocks company size, and so much more.

Listen →

October 18, 2017

219: Artisanal Iceman (feat. Patrick Wong)

Today we caught up with Patrick Wong, a design manager currently working at Lyft. In this episode we dig into Patricks journey into design, transitioning into management, preserving culture as a design team scales, working with design systems, and so much more.

Listen →

October 4, 2017

218: How Dutch Can I Go? (feat. Owen Williams)

Today we caught up with Owen Williams, a writer, developer, marketer, and most recently, full-time freelancer. In this episode we dig into building side projects with profitability in mind, making the leap to freelancing, being a generalist, and so much more.

Listen →

September 27, 2017

217: Mystery Lifestyle (feat. Tyler Thompson)

Today we caught up with Tyler Thompson, a designer and artist currently working at Stripe in San Francisco. In this episode we dig into Tyler's background as an artist, creative direction, job titles, escaping tech, and so much more.

Listen →

September 20, 2017

216: Topo Geeko (feat. John Rodriguez)

Today we caught up with John Rodriguez, aka J-Ro, a brand and marketing strategist currently working at Stage Two. In this episode we dig into the world of building hardware, brand and product marketing, working with early stage startups, and so much more.

Listen →

September 13, 2017

215: Shared Coolness Mood Board (feat. Salih Abdul-Karim)

Today we caught up with Salih Abdul-Karim, an experience and motion designer at AirBnb and a member of the team that created Lottie, an open source tool to easily add animations to native apps. In this episode we dig into Salih's journey into motion design, moving from NYC to SF, freelancing versus big co work, and so much more.

Listen →

September 6, 2017

214: Hot Weather Hugs (feat. Greyson MacAlpine)

Today we caught up with Greyson MacAlpine, a freelance designer currently working on [Wild & Grey](https://twitter.com/wildgreystudio), a new creative studio. In this episode we dig into growing up, changing career paths, Greyson's road to design, and so much more.

Listen →

August 30, 2017

213: 5,000 Horsepower (feat. Will Peng)

Today we caught up with Will Peng, a designer, investor, and co-founder of a new startup, Northstar. In this episode we talk about building a company, transitioning from design to VC, making the leap out of VC, and so much more.

Listen →

August 23, 2017

212: Extreme Portfolio Makeover (feat. Conway Anderson)

Today we caught up with Conway Anderson, a designer and developer currently working on connecting designers and opportunities with a new, unreleased product. In this episode we dig into Conway's beginnings, finding design, hiring and getting hired, faking it, and so much more.

Listen →

August 16, 2017

211: Sunshine In A Bag (feat. Mercedes Bazan)

Today we caught up with Mercedes Bazan, a designer at Stripe by way of Argentina. In this episode we dig into Mechi's background, her journey into design, moving to the US, designing for print inside a high tech company, and so much more.

Listen →

August 9, 2017

210: Did I Write This? (feat. Jules Forrest)

Today we caught up with Jules Forrest, a product designer making her way to Credit Karma by way of Sequoia, Medium, Optimizely, and more. In this episode we dig into Jules' background, building and launching side projects, discovering design systems, and so much more.

Listen →

August 2, 2017

209: Charmander++ (feat. Brian Lovin & Bryn Jackson)

This week we caught up with...us. Over the last two and a half years people have asked us questions about our own backgrounds, our journeys into design, starting side projects, building companies, how we manage working with each other *so* much, and more. So today we spent a while talking it through - we hope you enjoy listening!

Listen →

July 26, 2017

208: Say More Things (feat. Josh Brewer)

Today we caught up with Josh Brewer, the co-founder and CEO at Abstract, previously a principal designer at Twitter. In this episode we dig into the design tools ecosystem, how to launch a startup, social responsibility in product design, and so much more.

Listen →

July 19, 2017

207: Livin' The Target Life (feat. Alex Estrada)

Today we caught up with Alex Estrada, a product designer living in Salt Lake City, currently working at Jane.com. In this episode we dig into Alex's background in design, navigating startup highs and lows, moving to new cities, building teams, and so much more.

Listen →

July 12, 2017

206: Aspirational Open Mindedness (feat. Mills Baker)

Today we caught up with Mills Baker, a Design Manager at Quora, and previously a Product Designer at Facebook. In this extra-long episode, we dug into Mills' background, life in New Orleans, social mechanics, epistemology, and much more.

Listen →

July 5, 2017

205: New York Calls (feat. Robyn Kanner)

Today we caught up with Robyn Kanner, currently designing products at Etsy, co-founded MyTransHealth, and was previously an art director at Amazon (among other amazing roles). In this episode we dug into Robyn's background, her journey into the design field, escaping small towns, building MyTransHealth, and so much more.

Listen →

June 28, 2017

204: Happy Online Darkness (feat. Morgane Santos)

Today we caught up with Morgane Santos, a designer, developer and artist currently designing experiences at thoughtbot. In this episode we dig into Morgane's background, building games, learning VR and 3D, transitioning from programming to design, and so much more.

Listen →

June 21, 2017

203: Pool Pod Improv (feat. Chantal Jandard)

Today we caught up with Chantal Jandard, a designer currently building products at PlanGrid. In this episode we dig into Chantal's background, building a portfolio, learning how to interview, and...improv!

Listen →

June 14, 2017

202: Botpito (feat. Diogenes Brito)

Today we caught up with Diogenes Brito, a product designer at Slack who previously worked on LinkedIn and SquareSpace. In this episode we dig into Dio's background in design, navigating university, being a designer-y engineer, and so much more.

Listen →

June 7, 2017

201: Thrown Under the Self Driving Bus (feat. Max Schoening)

Today we caught up with Max Schoening, a designer, developer and product manager currently working at Google. In this episode we dig into Max's background in the field, building and selling startups, going serverless, the challenges of PMing, and so much more.

Listen →

May 31, 2017

200: Karate Chop Feels (feat. Josh Williams)

We made it to episode 200! Today we caught up with Josh Williams, a designer currently doing independent work, who is best known for previously co-founding Gowalla and designing at Facebook. In this episode we dig into identity in the startup industry, building and selling a company, modern day inspiration, putting out fires, and so much more.

Listen →

May 24, 2017

199: The Ballad of Computer Boy (feat. Judson Collier)

Today we caught up with Judson Collier, a designer working at the brand design studio at Intercom. In this episode we dig into Judson's background, finding a team, being a freelancer, the merits of kale pizza, and so much more.

Listen →

May 17, 2017

198: Berry Ink For Bears (feat. Janum Trivedi)

Today we caught up with Janum Trivedi, a designer and developer currently interning at Apple. In this show we dig deep on internships, side projects, the state of the web, dependency trees, Dungeons and Dragons, and so much more.

Listen →

May 10, 2017

197: Chillaphobia (feat. Rachel Been)

Today we caught up with Rachel Been, a creative director at Google working on the Material Design team. In this episode we dig deep into building design systems, creative and art direction, international empathy, machine learning in design, and so much more.

Listen →

May 3, 2017

196: What is Button? (feat. Rafael Conde & Kevin Clark)

In today's episode we caught up with our fellow Spec podcasters and designers, Rafael Conde and Kevin Clark, to talk about podcasting, side projects, building design systems, design obsession, and so much more.

Listen →

April 26, 2017

195: Weird Old Grandma (feat. Helen Tran)

Today we caught up with Helen Tran, a design lead at Shopify, writer, and explorer. In this episode we dig into Helen's background, finding motivation, design management, bodybuilding, being interesting, and so much more.

Listen →

April 19, 2017

194: That's So Hot Topic (feat. Kevin Smith)

Today we caught up with Kevin Smith, co-founder and CTO at Abstract. In this episode we dig into Kevin's origins, the state of design tools and design workflows, focus and productivity, and so much more.

Listen →

April 12, 2017

193: Puppy Bears (feat. Laura Helen Winn)

Today we caught up with Laura Helen Winn, an independent designer and photographer in San Francisco. In this show we dig into Laura's background, planning life, self employment, overwork, happiness and listening, and so much more.

Listen →

April 5, 2017

192: One Stuff At A Time (feat. Joel Califa)

Today we caught up with Joel Califa, a design manager at Digital Ocean. In this episode we discuss the state of design Twitter, design quality and process, managing up, hiring designers, rethinking empathy, and so much more.

Listen →

March 29, 2017

191: Triangle of Passions (feat. Will Newton)

Today we sat down with Will Newton, a product designer at Gusto who previously worked on Crossfader. In this episode we dig into Will's upcoming April Fools hijinks, his journey to San Francisco, finding balance in self-improvement, the triangle of passions, and so much more.

Listen →

March 22, 2017

190: Brain Drain (feat. Christine Røde)

Today we caught up with Christine Røde, a brand and interaction designer working in Amsterdam who previously worked at Facebook on Workplace and search. In this episode we dig into Christine's background, her journey to San Francisco, navigating startup and big company life, and her advice to folks outside the Bay Area.

Listen →

March 15, 2017

189: Done Goofed (feat. Max Stoiber)

Today we caught up with Max Stoiber, the creator of Styled Components and React Boilerplate (among many other projects), and a massive contributor overall to the world of open-source Javascript. We dig into Max's background, designing with code, building in the open, and so much more.

Listen →

March 8, 2017

188: Doodle Television (feat. Kathy Zheng)

Today we caught up with Kathy Zheng, a designer at GitHub, previously at Patreon. In this episode we dig into failure and taking chances, hiring early designers, learning how to communicate, and so much more.

Listen →

March 1, 2017

187: Performance Enhancing Calculators (feat. Ryhan Hassan)

Today we caught up with Ryhan Hassan, a designer at Dropbox who previously worked on Paper. We dig into Ryhan's background, his transition from development to design, building side projects, easter eggs, and more.

Listen →

February 22, 2017

186: Bucket Heads (feat. Sarah Pease)

Today we caught up with Sarah Pease, a designer at Facebook, previously building Figma. In this episode we go deep on buckets and furniture design, designing for civic engagement, taking risks, and so much more.

Listen →

February 15, 2017

185: Orland & Portlando (feat. Matt Spiel)

Today we caught up with Matt Spiel, the Director of Design at Treehouse, visiting us by way of Missouri. We learn about his destiny in Arizona, design activism, remote work, company hierarchy, taking bets on people, managing designers, and so much more.

Listen →

February 8, 2017

184: Three Scarves (feat. Meredith Schomburg)

Today we caught up with Meredith Schomburg, a designer and illustrator at Airbnb. We dig into the impact of illustration, finding the right team at Airbnb, finding role models and fulfillment, and so much more.

Listen →

February 1, 2017

183: Vicious Soda Can (feat. Cat Noone)

Today we caught up with Cat Noone, a designer and founder currently working on a new startup, Iris. In this episode we learn how to do math on our fingers, discuss how to navigate a career and different types of companies, learn what it takes to bootstrap a startup, hear Cat's advice for aspiring entrepreneurs, and so much more.

Listen →

January 25, 2017

182: Sugar Puppy (feat. Jenny Johannesson)

Today we caught up with Jenny Johannesson, a designer at Ueno, previously at Fantasy and DDB, who currently lives in San Francisco by way of Sweden. We dig into Jenny's background, design confidence, green cards and visas, that sweet agency life, advice for young designers, and so much more.

Listen →

January 18, 2017

181: 5,000 Tickets Gets The Gum (feat. Alex Cornell)

Today we caught up with Alex Cornell, a product designer at Facebook, filmmaker, book writer, musician, photographer, and so much more. We dig deep into his thoughts on finding fulfillment, growing as a communicator, fame, the good ol' days of design communities, and more.

Listen →

January 11, 2017

180: Best of 2016 (Part 3)

For the next week we're taking some time off with our friends and family – to tide everyone over, we've compiled three episodes with some of our favorite clips of 2016. We hope you enjoy listening back and rediscovering some of our episodes from this year, and we'll be back with new interviews in 2017!

Listen →

January 4, 2017

179: Best of 2016 (Part 2)

For the next two weeks we're taking some time off with our friends and family – to tide everyone over, we've compiled three episodes with some of our favorite clips of 2016. We hope you enjoy listening back and rediscovering some of our episodes from this year, and we'll be back with new interviews in 2017!

Listen →

December 28, 2016

178: Best of 2016 (Part 1)

For the next three weeks we're taking some time off with our friends and family – to tide everyone over, we've compiled three episodes with some of our favorite clips of 2016. We hope you enjoy listening back and rediscovering some of our episodes from this year, and we'll be back with new interviews in 2017!

Listen →

December 21, 2016

177: Chocolate Soul Cup (feat. Jon Schlossberg)

Today we sat down with Jon Schlossberg, the cofounder and CEO at Even. We had a wonderful chat with Jon, digging into his path to becoming a designer, developing the skills of critical thinking, the cognitive energy cup, designing against inequality, telling the truth, and so much more.

Listen →

December 14, 2016

176: Location Irrelevance (feat. Juan Arreguin)

Today we caught up with longtime-friend and freelance designer Juan Arreguin. We dig into Juan's origins as a designer in the midwest, the body as design, building a community in San Francisco, designing as a nomad, and so much more.

Listen →

December 7, 2016

175: Honeymoon & Humble Ping-Pong (feat. Claire Tauziet)

Today we caught up with Claire Tauziet, a designer at Google, previously at BigCommerce, by way of France. We dig into Claire's background, sharing past work, building a career in a new country, advice for young designers, and so much more.

Listen →

November 30, 2016

174: Lava Lamp Nail Salon (feat. Noah Levin)

Today we caught up with Noah Levin, a design manager at ClassPass, previously building the Google app for iOS, and before that a designer at NASA. We dig into Noah's origins, wireframing and visual design, navigating design at a big company, stigmas in therapy, imposter syndrome, and so much more.

Listen →

November 23, 2016

173: Grammar Different (feat. Leigh Taylor)

Today we caught up with Leigh Taylor, a freelancing designer previously building AI design systems at The Grid. In this conversation, we dig into chasing people versus jobs, predictability and consistency, design patterns, living like you're retired, and so much more.

Listen →

November 16, 2016

172: That Sweater Life (feat. Tegan Mierle)

Today we caught up with Tegan Mierle, a designer at Sense, living in SF by way of Toronto. We dig into Tegan's origins, how she built her own business, the fears around sharing work, maintaining balance, and so much more.

Listen →

November 9, 2016

171: Never Not Crunched (feat. Sarah Marie & Marshall Bock)

Today was a different kind of episode, featuring return friends of the show Marshall Bock and Sarah Marie. We had a more casual conversation, digging into topics like shutting down side projects, giving up, accountability and motivation, time management, and so much more.

Listen →

November 2, 2016

170: #BringBackThePipes (feat. Majd Taby)

Today we caught up with Majd Taby, the founder of Darkroom who previously built products at Instagram, Facebook and Apple. We dig into his story as a software engineer and designer, hiring at tech companies, being scrappy, emotion in building products, finding work that matters, and so much more.

Listen →

October 26, 2016

169: Invisible Unicorns (feat. Maykel Loomans)

Today we caught up once again with Maykel Loomans, a designer on Facebook's Search team and previously at Instagram. We dig into what Maykel has been up to this past year, building a career as a designer, mentorship, photography, and so much more.

Listen →

October 19, 2016

168: Auto Goats (feat. Koen Bok and Jorn van Dijk)

Today we caught up with Koen Bok and Jorn van Dijk, the co-founders of Framer, previously building products at Facebook and Sofa. This was a fun episode where we went deep into topics like building a startup in Amsterdam, the future of design tools, how to help designers level up, and so much more.

Listen →

October 12, 2016

167: Daisy Chained Brains (feat. Payam Rajabi)

Today we caught up with Payam Rajabi, a designer at Shopify working on design systems and product development. We dig into Payam's background, building design systems, designing with content and form, learning how to work remotely, and so much more.

Listen →

October 5, 2016

166: Ambient Struggles (feat. May-Li Khoe & Andy Matuschak)

Today's show is a rare two-person episode featuring previous-guest May-Li Khoe and newcomer Andy Matuschak. In this episode we do things a bit different, digging into tough topics like fear, learning how to learn, designing with convictions, working on the right problems, and so much more.

Listen →

September 28, 2016

165: Whitespace Friends (feat. Lori Kaplan)

Today we caught up with Lori Kaplan, a designer with 30 years of experience at companies like Apple, Netscape, Netflix, Motorola, and Groupon (among many others). We chat about Lori's journey into design, what it takes to design organizations, navigating job changes throughout a career, writing the Macintosh human interface guidelines, beating imposter syndrome, and more.

Listen →

September 21, 2016

164: Maximum Vignelli (feat. Lucas Smith)

In this episode, we hung out the one and only Lucas Smith. We covered everything from design systems, to fighting your CFO, and even the hot new front-end framework, Haskell.

Listen →

September 14, 2016

163: Guardrails (feat. Ben Wilkins)

Today we caught up with Ben Wilkins, a design technologist building systems at Airbnb. We dig into what it takes to build design systems, coding as prototyping, the current world of design tools, and so much more.

Listen →

September 7, 2016

162: Gnarwhale (feat. Andy Chung)

Today we met with Andy Chung, a designer building Pattern, and previously working at Facebook. We dig into Andy's beginnings, designing at Facebook, understanding changes at scale, bringing Reactions to market, intuition-driven design, and more.

Listen →

August 31, 2016

161: Coming Soon (feat. Julia Khusainova)

Today we sat down with Julia Khusainova, a designer at Shyp, previously at Twitter. We dig into Julia's background, leaving Russia, transitioning from engineering to design, designing onboarding experiences, facing burnout, balancing side projects, and more.

Listen →

August 29, 2016

160: Unicorn Farts (feat. Dr. Charles Pearson)

Today we sat down with Dr. Charles Pearson, a cultural anthropologist working at InVision. We dig into Charles' thoughts on anthropology, research in design and startups, exploratory design, personas, legacy, and so much more.

Listen →

August 24, 2016

159: Twe-mail (feat. Lisa Sy)

Today we caught up with Lisa Sy, a designer working at Facebook, and previously building products at thoughtbot. We dig into Lisa's background, designing for privacy and control, internships vs. apprenticeships, design and code, multidisciplinary design, and more.

Listen →

August 22, 2016

158: D.R.E.A.M. (feat. Bob Baxley)

Today we caught up with Bob Baxley, a designer in Silicon Valley. Bob formerly led design at Pinterest, and before that built products at Apple and Yahoo!. We dig into topics like med-tech, managing millennials, Pokémon GO and Gen-Z, design in big tech, and so much more.

Listen →

August 17, 2016

157: Walking Empathy Sponge (feat. Kory Westerhold)

Today we sat down with Kory Westerhold, a designer at Facebook working on Newsfeed, who previously designed at Twitter, Apple, and more. We dig deep on video games, opinions in design, theater and story telling, portfolios, designing for newsfeed, carrying an Android phone, and balancing side projects.

Listen →

August 15, 2016

156: Segue... (Feat. Alexandra Bond)

Today we caught up with Alexandra Bond, a design fellow at Sequoia Creative Labs and previously a designer at Pinterest. We pick her brain about her origins, friction in design, transitioning into a product role, navigating the job search, answering the *why*, and more.

Listen →

August 10, 2016

155: Duckicopters (feat. Athyuttam Reddy)

Today we sat down with Athyuttam Reddy, a designer-engineer intern at Figma. We cover so much in this episode, including engineer design hybrid roles, getting a design job as a new grad, landing meaningful internships, becoming jaded, diversity and inclusivity, and so much more.

Listen →

August 8, 2016

154: Dancing Baby Dior (feat. Irina Blok)

Today we caught up with Irina Blok, a designer at Zendesk who has previously designed at Google, Yahoo, and Adobe (among so many other companies). We talk about brand and product, moving from Russia to California, designing in the real world, putting in the work, and much more.

Listen →

August 3, 2016

153: Khaleesi of the Couch (feat. Jeany Ngo)

Today we caught up with Jeany Ngo, a designer by day at Airbnb, artist and creator and cosplayer by night. We dig into her journey into design, internships and hustle, art and cosplay, aphantasia and logic, and so much more.

Listen →

August 1, 2016

152: Maniacal Easy-Bake (feat. Beth Dean)

Today we caught up with Beth Dean, a designer at Facebook, avid hiker, creator of toys and comics, illustrator, and artist. We dig into Beth's journey into design, adventures in SF, designing at Facebook, transitional states in design, and so much more.

Listen →

July 27, 2016

151: 100-Armed Octopus (feat. Mackey Saturday)

Today we got to catch up for a second time with Mackey Saturday, a brand and logo designer at CGH in New York. We dig deep into logo and brand design, working for free, making mistakes, and so much more.

Listen →

July 25, 2016

150: Fantastic Digital Goo (feat. May-Li Khoe)

Today we were able to catch up with May-Li Khoe, a designer at Khan Academy who previously spent seven years on the design team at Apple. In this episode we dig deep into long-term thinking, passion and work, priorities and flow, and so much more.

Listen →

July 20, 2016

149: Melayoncé (feat. Melanie Araujo)

Today we had the opportunity to talk with Melanie Araujo, an independent designer and the creator of Front and Center. She shares her story with us, and we dig into complex topics like self-awareness, identity, personal growth, inclusion and diversity, and so much more.

Listen →

July 18, 2016

148: Verbal Punctuation (feat. Tim Quirino)

Today we caught up with Tim Quirino, a product designer at Facebook working on Live. We dig into his background, mentorship, a designer's responsibility, vulnerability, and so much more.

Listen →

July 13, 2016

147: Editorial Spackle (feat. Jessica Collier)

Today we sat down with Jessica Collier, who was most recently a word person at Stellar. We go deep into designing economies, the importance of words and titles, Silicon Valley, the role of content in design, and so much more.

Listen →

July 11, 2016

146: Smell-o-vision (feat. Amber Cartwright)

Today we caught up with Amber Cartwright, a design manager at Airbnb. We dig into her past and journey into design, management and leadership, invisible design, machine learning and AI, and so much more.

Listen →

July 6, 2016

145: Sinister Candybar (feat. Chris Downer)

We recently sat down with Chris Downer, a designer at Sketch, previously at Realmac Software. We dig into his background, what it takes to design Sketch, how to build great software, and more.

Listen →

July 4, 2016

144: Coca-Coolaid (feat. Stewart Scott-Curran)

Today we sat down with Stewart Scott-Curran, a designer working to build the brand team at Intercom. We dig into his background and journey as a designer, building a team with opinions, the ethics of design, and more.

Listen →

June 29, 2016

143: Design Systems: So Hot Right Now (feat. Karri Saarinen)

Today we met with Karri Saarinen, a designer at Airbnb working on their Design Language System. In this episode we dig deep into design tools and systems, collaboration at scale, building trust with design, and much more.

Listen →

June 27, 2016

142: Relax To Get Past (feat. Daniel Hooper)

Today we caught up with Daniel Hooper, a designer and engineer working on Principle. We dig into his process of building a prototyping tool, building side projects, San Francisco, Apple, and more.

Listen →

June 22, 2016

141: Stardust Towers (feat. Pieter Omvlee)

In this episode we sat down with Pieter Omvlee, the creator of Bohemian Coding and Sketch. We chat about remote work, building and designing software, creating culture, the vision for Sketch, and more.

Listen →

June 20, 2016

140: Murky Waters (feat. Mike Davidson)

This episode has been a long time coming: we finally caught up with Mike Davidson, the previous VP of design at Twitter and an all-around wonderful human. We dig deep into topics like evaluating designers, openness and honesty in tech, building teams, diversity, and more.

Listen →

June 15, 2016

139: Story Time! (feat. Josh Austin)

Today we sat down with Josh Austin, a designer working on the VR team at YouTube. We dig into his past, talk about blogs and learning, communities and leveling up, virtual reality and what's next for designers, and so much more.

Listen →

June 13, 2016

138: SlickSlacks (feat. Chanpory Rith)

In this episode we catch up with Chanpory Rith, co-founder of Mixmax and previously a designer at Google, Dubberly Design Office and Meta Design. We talk about his journey through tech, working at agencies, big companies and startups, advice to young designers, and more.

Listen →

June 8, 2016

137: NBA Friends (feat. Christophe Tauziet)

Today we caught up with Christophe Tauziet, a designer at Facebook working on social VR. We dig into his background and hobbies, working at Apple, Parse and Facebook, designing at scale, VR, the future of design, and more.

Listen →

June 6, 2016

136: All Bridge, No Apple (feat. Rasmus Andersson)

In today's episode we sat down with Rasmus Andersson, a designer at Figma who previously designed at Dropbox, Facebook and Spotify. We dig into the world of design tools, programming, design process, collaboration, craft, bridges and apples, and so much more.

Listen →

June 1, 2016

135: How Hard Can It Be? (feat. Jasper Hauser)

In today's show we catch up with Jasper Hauser, the co-founder of SOFA and currently a design manager at Facebook. We dig into Jasper's past, the creation and evolution of SOFA, moving to Palo Alto by way of Facebook, craft and icon design, managing teams and processes, and so much more.

Listen →

May 30, 2016

134: Bias Filter (feat. Braden Kowitz)

Today we caught up with Braden Kowitz, a design partner at Google Ventures. We dig into Braden's work at GV, his background and journey at Google, prototyping, design process, building a design culture, and more.

Listen →

May 25, 2016

133: Follow the Gifs (feat. Sarah Jackson)

Today we're excited to share a very special episode of Design Details! In this show we sat down with Sarah Jackson, the full-time producer of our very own Spec Network. Sarah has been producing all of the Spec podcasts for almost a year, managing all operations, sales, new show onboarding and so much more – we dig into her journey to SF, what it's like building a content network, upcoming projects and more.

Listen →

May 23, 2016

132: Outdoor Disrupt (feat. Justin Graham)

Today we caught up with Justin Graham after returning from his journey to the Pacific Northwest and Japan. We dig into his background, making the leap to SF, building side projects, freelancing, remote work, traveling and more.

Listen →

May 18, 2016

131: A Silicon Valley Eternity (feat. Joshua Taylor)

Today we caught up once again with Joshua Taylor, previously a design director at Evernote who is currently contracting and working on a better experience for podcast consumption. We talk about his back story and becoming a designer, growing within organizations, freelancing and humility, leveling up as a junior designer and more

Listen →

May 16, 2016

130: Ramen UI (feat. Linda Dong)

Today we caught up with Linda Dong, a designer who worked on the prototyping team at Apple before leaving to travel the world. We dig into her experiences prototyping, diversity in tech, dealing with criticism, building video games and more.

Listen →

May 11, 2016

129: Respect the Craft (feat. Claudio Guglieri)

Today we were able to catch up with Claudio Guglieri, a designer in SF making beautiful websites and products. We dig into his background as a designer from Spain, his process, honing craft, hiring designers, building producs, writing for yourself, developing personal styles and so much more.

Listen →

May 9, 2016

128: I Call Shotgun! (feat. Al Ingram and Ben Mingo)

Today we sat down with Al Ingram and Ben Mingo, two pixel pushers at UENO and recent SF transplants. We dig into their backgrounds and journeys to San Francisco, what it's like working at UENO, finding inspiration, interviewing and more.

Listen →

May 4, 2016

127: F of X (feat. Luke Beard)

Today we caught up with Luke Beard, a designer currently working on building Exposure, a platform for photo stories. We invent a new mathematical formula for success, discuss building businesses vs. companies, talk origin stories and making moves to Silicon Valley, and much more.

Listen →

May 2, 2016

126: Hone Your Own (feat. Heather Phillips)

Today we sat down with Heather Phillips, a designer currently managing at Designer Fund. We chat about her experiences working across a huge range of designers and startups, women in design, mentorship, getting a first job, the value of design school and more.

Listen →

April 27, 2016

125: Back to the Drawing Board, Baby (feat. Vanessa Cho)

Today we caught up with Vanessa Cho, a designer and manager leading the software team at GoPro. We dig into her background as a designer, the hard truths about being a great manager and more.

Listen →

April 25, 2016

124: Dazzle (feat. Jeremy Goldberg)

Today we caught up once more with Jeremy Goldberg, a designer at Facebook working on Messenger and bots. We dig into designing for AI/bots, critique, process, trust, and more. Oh, and we coin a fun new term for designers.

Listen →

April 20, 2016

123: Live @ Github (feat. Carolyn Zhang, Heather Phillips, Mo Woods & Diana Mounter)

This is it! Our first live episode recorded at GitHub in SF - thank you so much to GitHub for hosting and to everyone who was able to make it out! We had a blast in this episode talking with our four panelists about design mentorship, education, critique and more.

Listen →

April 18, 2016

122: Lookin' to Cookin' (feat. Josh Puckett & Justin Pervorse)

Today we regrouped with the JPs - Justin Pervorse and Josh Puckett! We dig into cooking, definitions, titles, critique, management and so much more.

Listen →

April 13, 2016

121: Web Trauma (feat. Bill Labus and Benjamin De Cock)

Today we caught up with two members of the Stripe design team, Bill Labus and Benjamin De Cock. We dig into their roles as UI designers, collaborating in code, critique, process and tools at Stripe, working remotely, origin stories, and more.

Listen →

April 11, 2016

120: Shout Out, Mom! (feat. Adam Polselli)

Today we caught up with Adam Polselli, a product designer and design lead at Dropbox. We dig into current projects at Dropbox, Adam's background, rejection and navigating a career path, hiring designers, what keeps Adam up at night and more.

Listen →

April 6, 2016

119: Dead Sea Scrollbar (feat. Yaron Schoen)

Today we caught up with Yaron Schoen, a designer at Compass living in New York. We dig into Yaron's background and path into design, the changing environment of client work, building style guides and shipping great work.

Listen →

April 4, 2016

118: The Helena Price™ (feat. Helena Price)

Today we were able to sit down with Helena Price, a photographer in SF who has been hard at work on the Techies Project (launching today!). In this show we dig into Techies, Helena's background in tech and path to becoming a full-time photographer, dealing with stagnation and more.

Listen →

March 30, 2016

117: The Cool Tools (feat. Dylan Field)

Today we caught up with Dylan Field, the CEO and co-founder of Figma. In this episode we dig into Dylan's background, design tools an Figma, internships, opinionated design, design education and more.

Listen →

March 28, 2016

116: At Least There's Catan (feat. Connor McSheffrey)

Today we sat down with Connor McSheffrey, a photographer and designer in SF most recently at Dropbox and VSCO. We dig into his background in programming and freelancing, making the leap to SF, photography and more!

Listen →

March 23, 2016

115: Puppies, People, 'Puters (feat. Kelly Sutton)

Today we caught up with Kelly Sutton, a software engineer currently leading product at imgix who is well-known in the design community for co-founding Designer News. In this episode we dig into Kelly's background, learn how to deal with a company shutdown and the story of Designer News, discuss tips for managing ICs and more!

Listen →

March 16, 2016

113: Artist Formerly Known As (feat. Jeff Smith)

Today we caught up with our good friend Jeff Smith, a designer at Facebook, a shralper at heart, and an all-around amazing designer. We start off digging into Jeff's background but quickly start to uncover what makes a great manager, how to deal with imposter syndrome, filling in skill gaps, answering the eternal 1x vs 2x debate, and addressing the importance of visual design.

Listen →

March 14, 2016

112: Turtleneck Tutorials (feat. Marshall Bock)

Today we finally had the chance to catch Marshall Bock on a solo recording! We dig deeper into his background, dive into sketch tips and tricks, talk about grids and guides and how to build great cross-platform experiences.

Listen →

March 9, 2016

111: Claim to Flame (feat. Vicki Tan)

Today we sat down with Vicki Tan, a designer here in SF working at Lyft and wearing all black. In this episode we get into Vicki's journey to design, crafting a better interview process, management and having successful one-on-ones, hustling, getting a first design job and more.

Listen →

March 7, 2016

110: MAMP Patient Zero (feat. Joey Banks)

Today we caught up with Joey Banks, a designer here in SF, previously at Scoot Networks. Joey is a self-described junior designer, and in today's show we dig into his journy in the industry, his next projects, what makes a good mentor, how to build your network and more.

Listen →

March 2, 2016

109: Vim Me Up, Scottie (feat. Dan Eden)

Today we sat down with Daniel Eden, a design engineer at Dropbox. We dig briefly into Dan's background, talk about the relationship between designers and developers, writing CSS at scale, scratching your own itch and more.

Listen →

February 29, 2016

108: The Flopping Dead (feat. Brad Simpson)

Today we caught up with the designer formerly known as Brad Simpson. Brad currently designs at Medium, but he comes from a highly technical hardware background at IDEO and MIT. We dig into Brad's transition from hardware/mechanical design to software design, the challenges of designing at Medium and more.

Listen →

February 24, 2016

107: Just Enough Wax: LIVE @ Epicurrence

Today we have a very special, experimental episode of Design Details. On our last night of Epicurrence #3 we invited folks to come answer one of three questions; the result is a 28-guest mega-episode!

Listen →

February 22, 2016

106: Glorified Hustlers (feat. Mackey Saturday & Meg Robichaud)

For our third Epicurrence episode we sat down with Mackey Saturday and Meg Robichaud. We catch up on their past year, branding and illustration work, how to navigate company politics, the way to get critique as a freelancer, and a handfull of listener questions at the end!

Listen →

February 17, 2016

105: Arbiter of Taste (feat. Ben Cline & Anson Schall)

In another Epicurrence recording of Design Details, we caught up with Ben Cline and Anson Schall of Rally Interactive. We dig into Rally's humble beginnings, the merit of design awards, how designers and developers work together, and the worst kind of client.

Listen →

February 15, 2016

104: All Good in the Hood (feat. Jen & Amy Hood)

In our first Epicurrence recording we caught up with the talented Amy and Jen Hood, founders of Hoodzpah Design. In this show we chat with the twins about their backgrounds as designers, work life balance, side projects, pricing and how to start a design business.

Listen →

February 10, 2016

103: Sacrifice for Pixels (feat. Drew Wilson & Dann Petty)

In another special roundtable episode of Design Details, we caught up with Drew Wilson and Dann Petty, the creators of the Valio Con and Epicurrence design conferences. We dig into the ethos of their creations, the hardest parts of pulling together a community, and what it takes to create a physical experience for hundreds of people.

Listen →

February 8, 2016

102: Sick Ajax Skills (feat. Adam Michela)

This episode with Adam Michela was soopa fun; Adam is a designer at AirBnb, previously at Last, Facebook and Gowalla among others. We caught up to talk about Adam's background as a designer, building style guides at scale, the impact of engineering on user experience, and more.

Listen →

February 3, 2016

101: Everyone's Thirsty (feat. Katie Zhu & Tara Mann)

In another roundtable episode of Design Details, we caught up with Katie Zhu and Tara Mann to chat about social media, personal brands, new media, storytelling and our favorite undiscovered apps!

Listen →

February 1, 2016

100: Goldilocks Fidelity (feat. Daniel Burka)

Episode 100! We made it - thank you so much to everyone has listened to an episode, shared the show with a friend or reached out to us on Twitter this past year; we wouldn't be here without you. For this special episode we caught up with Daniel Burka to talk about his background, process, critique, what keeps him up at night and more. Enjoy!

Listen →

January 28, 2016

99: Internet Points (feat. Ian Silber)

Today we sat down with Ian Silber, a designer (and design manager!) at Instagram. We dig into his background, talk about taking bets on young designers, his key learnings in management, briefly diverge into cooking, and return back to his process for hiring at Instagram.

Listen →

January 25, 2016

98: Inhale the Flattery (feat. Marc Hemeon & Joshua Taylor)

For episode 98 we sat down with Marc Hemeon and Joshua Taylor to talk about their new company, Design Inc. We also dig into their biggest advice for young designers, what they would learn if they could start again, soul vs. ego and what it takes to surround yourself with the best people.

Listen →

January 20, 2016

97: Eleven Month Itch (feat. Marshall Bock & Joshua Sortino)

In today's episode of Design Details we brought the Vicarious crew, Marshall Bock and Josh Sortino, over to have a round table discussion about design leadership. This is a different format from our usual shows, so ping us on Twitter @designdetailsfm with your thoughts and feedback!

Listen →

January 18, 2016

96: Granola Mogul (feat. Kerem Suer)

Today we caught up with Kerem Suer, a product designer at Operator. We've been itching to chat with Kerem for the past year, and it was so fun to finally get to catch up! In this episode we talk about Kerem's background as a designer and sailor, career progression, side projects, and the dumbest domain names we've ever bought.

Listen →

January 13, 2016

95: Sandwich Artist (feat. Brian Benitez)

For our first new recording in 2016 we caught up with Brian Benitez, a designer who built Collective Ray over the past 5 years and has just recently joined the team at Weebly. We chat about his origins as a designer, making the switch to Weebly, moving to SF and, of course, sandwich art.

Listen →

January 11, 2016

94: Best of 2015 - Part 4

For the next two weeks we're taking some time off with our friends and family - to tide everyone over, we've compiled four episodes with some of our favorite clips of 2015. We hope you enjoy listening back and re-discovering some of our earliest content, and we'll be back with new interviews in 2016!

Listen →

January 6, 2016

93: Best of 2015 - Part 3

For the next two weeks we're taking some time off with our friends and family - to tide everyone over, we've compiled four episodes with some of our favorite clips of 2015. We hope you enjoy listening back and re-discovering some of our earliest content, and we'll be back with new interviews in 2016!

Listen →

January 4, 2016

92: Best of 2015 - Part 2

For the next two weeks we're taking some time off with our friends and family - to tide everyone over, we've compiled four episodes with some of our favorite clips of 2015. We hope you enjoy listening back and re-discovering some of our earliest content, and we'll be back with new interviews in 2016!

Listen →

December 30, 2015

91: Best of 2015 - Part 1

For the next two weeks we're taking some time off with our friends and family - to tide everyone over, we've compiled four episodes with some of our favorite clips of 2015. We hope you enjoy listening back and re-discovering some of our earliest content, and we'll be back with new interviews in 2016!

Listen →

December 28, 2015

90: Master Yodan (feat. Dan Mall)

In our last recorded guest episode of 2015, we were able to catch up with Dan Mall! We couldn't have asked for a more perfect episode to end our year - in this show Dan drops knowledge about freelancing, job titles, and helping people do the best work of their lives.

Listen →

December 23, 2015

89: Sh**s & Gigs (feat. Justin Pervorse)

In this episode we caught up with Justin Pervorse, a designer and illustrator at Dropbox, and previously at MailChimp. We dig into Justin's backstory, making vinyl toys at MailChimp, creating a custom t-shirt deli shop at Dropbox and the worst parts about living in San Francisco.

Listen →

December 21, 2015

88: Deuces, Coding (feat. Katie Zhu)

This week we caught up with Katie Zhu, an engineer and product manager at Medium. We pick Katie's brain about product management, holacracy and organizational structure, exploring new products, email newsletters, imposter syndrome and more.

Listen →

December 16, 2015

87: Chillustrations (feat. Meg Robichaud)

In this episode we finally caught up with Meg Robichaud, a designer and illustrator traveling and freelancing around the world. We talk about her background as a creator, the nomad lifestyle, her illustration processes and some of her latest thoughts and writings.

Listen →

December 14, 2015

86: Adult Recess (feat. Susan Lin)

This week we caught up with Susan Lin, an artist, designer and coder building things over at Treehouse. In this episode we dig into Susan's background as a creative, her process as a designer and developer, how remote work and flat organizations can maximize productivity, and the value of building a personal brand.

Listen →

December 9, 2015

85: Lettering Liaison (feat. Tobias Frere-Jones)

This is the last of our New York recordings with none-other than legendary type designer, Tobias Frere-Jones! Tobias recently released Mallory, his new company's first family, so the timing couldn't have been better. In this episode we learn about Tobias' design process, how he first became interested in type, and just what kind of details go into creating an entire family.

Listen →

December 7, 2015

84: Crochet Monotype (feat. Aaron Moodie)

Last month while in New York City we got to catch up with Aaron Moodie, a product designer at Etsy. We pick his brain about hustling, portfolio advice, moving around the world for new jobs and the future of apps.

Listen →

December 2, 2015

83: It Depends (Live @Etsy, feat. Randy Hunt)

A few weeks ago we flew to New York City to interview some of our favorite designers. On our first day in the city we had the chance to sit down with Randy Hunt, the VP of Design at Etsy, in front of the entire Etsy design team for a very special live episode! In this show we dig into some of the challenges Randy's facing as the design org continues to expand, his journey to becoming a designer, what keeps him awake at night, and much more.

Listen →

November 30, 2015

82: Salt Boogers (feat. Charlie Waite)

Today we sat down with Charlie Waite, a designer at GoPro who previously spent time designing at Focus Lab. We explore how design works at GoPro, the key differences between agency and product work, navigating work-life balance and working as a freelancer on the side.

Listen →

November 25, 2015

81: It's Complicated... (Live at Etsy, feat. Joel Califa, Jessica Harllee & Justin Edmund)

Last weekend we visited New York City to meet some of our favorite designers for Design Details! While we were there, we hosted our first-ever live meetup at the Etsy offices. More than 70 people came to catch up with Justin Edmund, Jessica Harllee and Joel Califa; we picked their brains about their journey, mistakes they've made, mentorship vs. coaching, learning new skills, and more - we even answered questions from the audience! Huge thanks to Aaron, Diana and Floris at Etsy for making this event possible; we can't wait to host our next meetup in San Francisco next year!

Listen →

November 23, 2015

80: Helvetica, Helvetica, Helvetica (feat. Jason Santa Maria)

Last weekend we visited New York City and caught up with one of our favorite designers, Jason Santa Maria. We pick his brain about process, mentorship and typography, and he walked us through his journey as a designer.

Listen →

November 18, 2015

79: Fart Director (feat. Gene Ross)

Today we caught up with Gene Ross, a designer at Luxe currently NOT living in San Francisco. We picked Gene's brain about imposter syndrome, work life balance, his Runescape journey and coming to the west coast.

Listen →

November 16, 2015

78: Bob Ross Petty (feat. Dann Petty)

We've been waiting to chat with Dann Petty for months now, but finally after returning from Epicurrence No. 2 we made it happen! In this episode we chat about Dann's background as a designer, what's going on with Epicurrence, his advice for freelancers, and tips for young designers just getting started. If you enjoy this episode, go to Epicurrence.com and sign up to come hang out this February in Park City, Utah!

Listen →

November 11, 2015

77: Pegacorns (feat. Drew Wilson)

Today we sat down with Drew Wilson, a prolific designer, developer and product creator who recently moved to the Bay Area to build Plasso. We chat about Drew's background, how he builds so many products, taking risks and his observations on design in the valley.

Listen →

November 9, 2015

76: Full Feltron (feat. Justin Edmund)

Today we sat down with Justin Edmund, a designer well known for his work at Pinterest over the last four years. We chat about his background in design, going to design school, what the Pinterest process is like, and how Justin is looking into the future of design.

Listen →

November 4, 2015

75: Gitway Drug (feat. Brent Jackson)

Today we sat down with Brent Jackson aka jxnblk to talk about all things design and development! Brent is a prolific creator and we love his tools here at Spec - we chat with him about side projects, being a designer and a developer, building design systems and how he got his nickname.

Listen →

November 2, 2015

74: Itchy Feet (feat. Diana Mounter)

In today's episode of Design Details we caught up with Diana Mounter, aka Broccolini. Diana is a designer at Etsy, and in this show we chat about her journey to Etsy, why git is a valuable tool for designers and the hardest part about onboarding new hires.

Listen →

October 28, 2015

73: Feedback Friends (feat. Katie Dill)

This week we had the chance to sit down with Katie Dill, the head of experience design at Airbnb. We talked about her background as a designer, what she looks for in new hires, how designers can work more effectively with businesses, and the critique process used at Airbnb.

Listen →

October 26, 2015

72: No...Nope...Not At All (feat. Morgan Knutson)

Today we caught up with Morgan Knutson, a co-founder and designer at Shift, notable for his previous work at Dropbox and Google. In this episode we talk about what it takes to get hired as a designer, Morgan's background, working at Google, and how to get things done as a designer.

Listen →

October 21, 2015

71: Tomb Braider (feat. Maykel Loomans)

In today's episode we sat down with Maykel Loomans, a designer and developer currently working on search at Facebook and is notable for his previous work at Instagram. In this episode we chat about Maykel's background as a designer, working at scale, mentorship and more.

Listen →

October 19, 2015

70: Nothing's Sacred, Not Even Goats (feat. Ash Huang)

For episode 70 we sat down with Ash Huang, an independent designer, illustrator and writer here in San Francisco. In the past Ash worked on brand design at Twitter, brand and product design at Pinterest, and has most recently published her own book, The Firesteel.

Listen →

October 14, 2015

69: Epicurrence Live (feat. Dustin Senos + Haraldur Thorleifsson)

Welcome to our first live episode of Design Details! We recorded this show last week at Epicurrence North Shore with Haraldur Thorleifsson and Dustin Senos - we dig into inspiration, mentorship, identifying potential and more. Let us know what you think of this live format on Twitter!

Listen →

October 12, 2015

68: Should Designers Cat? (feat. Trevor McNaughton + Katie Rinkevich)

Today we had a very fun, very casual conversation with Katie Rinkevich and Trevor McNaughton, both product designers living here in San Francisco. We chat about A/B testing, accidentally becoming designers and the concept car method of designing products.

Listen →

October 7, 2015

67: Open the Kimono (feat. Soleio Cuervo)

Today we caught up with Soleio Cuervo, a designer, advisor and investor. He's well known for laying the groundwork of Facebook's early design team and, of course, his work on the original incarnation of the 'like' button. He currently advises many companies and startups in tech, and we had a blast digging into his stories and lessons learned!

Listen →

October 5, 2015

66: Kittenish (feat. Ryan Hoover)

For episode 66 we caught up with Ryan Hoover, the founder of Product Hunt. We get insights into PH's latest podcasting branch, building in public, what it's like designing and building Product Hunt, and some of the biggest mistakes Ryan sees people making.

Listen →

September 30, 2015

65: Meatwad Flip-Flops (feat. Linda Eliasen)

Today we sat down with Linda Eliasen to chat about the latest happenings in her career, what it was like illustrating for Cartoon Network and her favorite project at Dropbox. We also take the time to dig through Linda's journey as a designer leading up until now as she sets off on her next adventure.

Listen →

September 28, 2015

64: Get Tricky (feat. Alli Dryer)

Today we caught up with Alli Dryer, a designer and architect working on the Twitter timeline. In this show we chat about Alli's background in design and architecture, what it's like to design at Twitter and what she's working on next.

Listen →

September 23, 2015

63: More Nougat (feat. Jon Lax)

For episode 63 we sat down with Jon Lax, one of the design directors at Facebook overseeing the Utility Org. Jon is well-known for his writings during his time at Teehan+Lax, the design agency he co-founded with Geoff Teehan. In this show we talk about his work at Facebook, design culture, designing at scale, and of course, Jon's backstory as a designer.

Listen →

September 21, 2015

62: Pencil Mileage (feat. Alice Lee)

In today's episode we caught up with Alice Lee, a designer, illustrator and developer living in San Francisco. Alice is well-known for her work at Dropbox, illustrating for the New York Times, and her latest freelance work across a range of amazing companies. In this show we chat about her journey as a designer and illustrator, the story behind Dropbox and Carousel and the latest projects Alice is working on.

Listen →

September 16, 2015

61: State of Louisville (feat. Josh Puckett)

In today's show we caught up with Josh Puckett, a designer and developer living in Palo Alto. We talk about Josh's journey at Dropbox and what it was like to build Carousel, how he manages to make so many apps, the current state of design tools, and the world of freelance designing. Stick around after the show to hear our 30 minutes of bonus conversation about the latest Apple event!

Listen →

September 14, 2015

60: One Big Wrist Button (feat. Ayaka Nonaka and Sam Soffes)

In this episode we sat down with Ayaka Nonaka and Sam Soffes to deconstruct the new Apple announcements from last week. We dig through each product and talk about the design and development implications we can expect in the future!

Listen →

September 9, 2015

59: Bay Curious (feat. Tara Mann)

For episode 59 we caught up with Tara Mann, a product designer and sneaker collector currently making things at Twitter. In this show we dig into Tara's background and discuss what it means to grow as a new designer. We also chat about the recent Google rebrand, entrepreneurial thought leaders and design school.

Listen →

September 7, 2015

58: Fat Cat Cat Chat (feat. Kyle Meyer and Charlie Deets)

In this episode we caught up with Kyle Meyer and Charlie Deets, two product designers that have a huge range of experience in the design and development world. We chat about design at Facebook, remote working, unsolicited redesigns and the power of sound.

Listen →

September 2, 2015

57: DubDubDub (feat. Robin and Roxane Clediere)

In this episode, we hung out with Robin and Roxane Clediere. They're a pair of French designers who not only are married, but work together on design projects. We discussed working together as a couple, joining Facebook, and moving from a small town in France to San Francisco.

Listen →

August 31, 2015

56: Lego Bits (feat. Adam Morse)

In this episode we sat down with Adam Morse, aka mrmrs, a front-end developer and designer. Adam shares his knowledge of building systems and making the internet better.

Listen →

August 26, 2015

55: Wizards (feat. Wilson Miner and Ryan Sims)

They're back! In this episode we sat down with Wilson Miner and Ryan Sims to chat about their latest adventures in design, Apple Music, design collaboration and job transitions.

Listen →

August 24, 2015

54: Cute Puppy Syndrome (feat. Jacob Thornton)

Today we sat down with Jacob Thornton, co-founder of Bootstrap and previously an engineer at Twitter and Medium. Jacob tells us all about his magical experience with Snoop Dogg, the history of CSS and the free software movement.

Listen →

August 19, 2015

53: Solving the Shout Problem (feat. Sahil Lavingia)

Today we caught up with Sahil Lavingia, the founder and CEO at Gumroad. We chat about building an audience online, the challenges of being a designer, engineer and founder, and what the hiring process looks like at Gumroad.

Listen →

August 17, 2015

52: Save the Prototype (feat. Malthe Sigurdsson)

Today we sat down with Malthe Sigurdsson, the current Head of Design at Stripe. Before joining Stripe, Malthe was the VP of Product at Rdio, and before that he was the Creative Director at Skype. In this episode we dig into Malthe's journey through these amazing companies, diving deep into hiring and scaling design teams and how to think like a product designer.

Listen →

August 12, 2015

51: Dopesick (feat. Marshall Bock and Sam Soffes)

It's teaser time! This episode we caught up with Sam Soffes and Marshall Bock, two upcoming hosts on the Spec Network! In this show we chat about the future of Spec and dive deep into some Sketch pro tips.

Listen →

August 10, 2015

50: #FF00FF (feat. Steph Monette and Liam Campbell)

For our 50th episode we sat down with Steph Monette and Liam Campbell, developers at Mule Design, to chat about CSS, startups versus agencies and the state of tech in San Francisco.

Listen →

August 5, 2015

49: Space Dinosaurs (feat. Anand Sharma)

Today we sat down with Anand Sharma, founder of Gyroscope and an insanely-talented designer/developer. We caught up about his work on Gyroscope, the future of health tracking and how the quantified self is changing the world.

Listen →

August 3, 2015

48: Switzerland of Tumblr (feat. Floris Dekker)

Happy Monday! Today we caught up with Floris Dekker, senior design manager at Etsy and founder of Little Big Details! In this show we chat about Little Big Details, management as a design problem, gardening and what Floris is excited about in the world of design.

Listen →

July 29, 2015

47: Symmetrical Sandwich (feat. Mark Otto)

Today we caught up with Mark Otto, the creator of Bootstrap and designer at GitHub. We go deep into the CSS/front-end world on this one, we hope you enjoy listening!

Listen →

July 27, 2015

46: It Started With Neopets (feat. Joshua Sortino)

Today we caught up with Josh Sortino, designer at Teespring, startup advisor and photographer. We chat about design and communication, the design world in San Francisco, photography and how designers can get a seat at the table.

Listen →

July 22, 2015

45: Year of the Snail (feat. Elle Luna)

It's time for a break from the normal conversations we have here on Design Details; today we stepped back to try and see the bigger picture with Elle Luna. Elle is a writer, designer, artist, entrepreneur and life adventurer, and in this episode she helps us navigate some of the bigger questions in our lives and in our careers.

Listen →

July 20, 2015

44: Everything is a Beta (feat. Haraldur Thorleifsson)

For episode 44 we caught up with Haraldur Thorleifsson, a designer and agency founder leading the amazing team at UENO. In this show we chat about Haraldur's background and journey to starting UENO, the state of web design, Apple Watch, burnout and more.

Listen →

July 13, 2015

42: Lonely T-Rex (feat. Sebastien Gabriel and Jean-Marc Denis)

This week we finally caught up with our friends at Google, Jean-Marc Denis and Sebastien Gabriel. In this episode we chat Material Design, designing invisible interfaces, current design tools and moving from France to the US.

Listen →

July 8, 2015

41: Heart For You (feat. Marshall Bock and Michael Schultz)

It's been a week since Apple Music launched giving us the perfect reason to have a round-table discussion about the new app with Marshall Bock and Michael Schultz. We bounce around this episode sharing our thoughts on Apple Music and streaming services in general - we hope you have fun listening!

Listen →

July 6, 2015

40: Ace of Bass (feat. Gabe Valdivia and Kyle Ryan)

Today we sat down with Gabe Valdivia and Kyle Ryan to talk about design at Facebook, the progress of their side project, Peek, and the value of obviousness in design.

Listen →

July 1, 2015

39: YoTube (feat. Mike Essl)

On this episode we caught up with Mike Essl: designer, artist, Mr. T memorabilia collector. We talk about Mike's personal story as a designer, Cooper Union, and yes, we chat comics.

Listen →

June 29, 2015

38: Electronic Parties (feat. Geoff Teehan)

For episode 38, we were joined by Geoff Teehan, a super-talented Canadian designer who is at least partially responsible for several of our favorite products. He has not only worked on some amazing projects for companies like Medium, Google, and now Facebook - he has also built some really great resources for designers.

Listen →

June 24, 2015

37: Crisper Articulation (feat. Julie Zhuo)

For episode 37, we were lucky enough to get to spend some time with Julie Zhuo! We're both huge fans of her writing on Medium and the way she thinks about design and *especially* that she shares that with the entire community.

Listen →

June 22, 2015

36: 10x (feat. Meng To)

For episode 36, we got to spend some time with Meng To discussing what makes a great product, how to get started with design and development, and what it takes to build a thing. Meng's an incredibly talented creator and we're grateful he was able to take a break from helping people get started in our industry to hang out with us for an hour or so!

Listen →

June 17, 2015

35: Senate Design Overcommittee (feat. Noah Stokes)

For episode 35, we finally convinced the Motherfuton himself, Mr. Noah Stokes, to come hang with us for a bit and talk about lazy web design, ornamentation vs utility, design education and so much more. It was super fun to pick his brain for an hour or so and he brought up some frequently overlooked shortcomings of how we build the web today.

Listen →

June 15, 2015

34: Second Shift (feat. Allison House)

This week we hopped on a call with the one-and-only Allison House! Allison currently lives in Austin, exploring her way through 3D art and design - in this episode we chat about her background in design, her transition into 3D and what she's excited for in the future.

Listen →

June 10, 2015

33: The Rusty Theorem (feat. Marc Edwards & Russell Ivanovic)

The epic conclusion of our first ever two-parter! Marc and Russell were kind enough to come back for round two to discuss Apple's WWDC Keynote, Marc's weird workflows, optical alignment, PDF assets and more!

Listen →

June 8, 2015

32: Dethrone Marco (feat. Russell Ivanovic and Marc Edwards)

It's WWDC week, and this time we're catching up with Russell Ivanovic and Marc Edwards, both founders of independent app development companies in Australia. We spent this hour chatting about Google I/O, iOS, Material Design and more.

Listen →

June 3, 2015

31: Jaded People (feat. Caleb Davenport & Sam Soffes)

This week we caught up with Caleb Davenport and Sam Soffes to chat about the latest Google I/O announcements, our upcoming WWDC wish list, OSX and iOS design and more.

Listen →

June 1, 2015

30: Rewarding Holding Experience (feat. Didi Medina)

This episode, we geeked out with Didi Medina over photography and music - and we still found time to dig into his origin story a bit.

Listen →

May 27, 2015

29: Bananagrams (feat. Ryan Putnam & Nick Slater)

In this episode of Design Details we had the pleasure of catching up with Ryan Putnam and returning-guest Nick Slater! We chat about illustration, designing a company culture, mixing mediums and finding our spirit animals.

Listen →

May 25, 2015

28: #TeamOneCircle (feat. Michael Schultz)

This week we caught up with Michael Schultz, a designer living in San Francisco tackling one of the hardest design problems out there: health and medicine. We chat all about the problems he faces designing in the medical world, how to launch and market side projects and we end with a healthy debate about designer job titles.

Listen →

May 20, 2015

27: Socialist Design (feat. Kim Bost & Cap Watkins)

Last week Kim and Cap were in SF for the week and dropped by to record another fun episode of Design Details! We chat about what it's like to be married to a designer, how to hire designers and how to overcome the biggest challenges design managers face.

Listen →

May 19, 2015

26: Beep Beep I Like Ferns Beep (feat. Sebastiaan De With)

This week we sat down with Sebastiaan de With to chat about everything design (and motorcycles)! We caught up on his evolving career in design, what it's like building a new agency, how to work with international clients and the power of giving design resources away for free.

Listen →

May 13, 2015

25: Arbitrary Head Chef (feat. Danny Trinh & Chris Kalani)

This episode, we had two designers building their own companies by building some awesome products that we're super excited about - Chris Kalani of Wake and Danny Trinh from Free. We took a bunch of questions from people watching on Periscope and these guys have some great energy which lead to a fantastic conversation and some "real talk"!

Listen →

May 11, 2015

24: Open Source Religion (feat. Kevin Rose)

This week we sat down with Kevin Rose - he's a product creator and VC who has had a prolific presence in the tech community for several years. We chat about the things he's loving right now, watch culture, health and cooking, hiring and so much more!

Listen →

May 6, 2015

23: Brains are Stupid (feat. Christophe Tauziet, Jeremy Goldberg, and George Kedenburg)

This was the most impromptu episode we've ever done. We were just out to dinner with these guys and we were having so much fun debating design things that we decided to record our first-ever 3-guest episode. We made a lot of references to George and Jeremy's last episode - so definitely go check that out. This was a really fun episode for us - hopefully it is for you too!

Listen →

May 4, 2015

22: Poor Man's Pokemon (feat. Cennydd Bowles)

This week we caught up with Cennydd Bowles over Skype for a truly fascinating discussion about cross-OS design, the future of wearables, what it means to be a junior vs. senior designer, and why sound design will be the next big trend.

Listen →

April 29, 2015

21: Startup Lubricant (feat. Bin Chen)

This episode, we talked tea with Boba Guys and Tea People co-founder Bin Chen! He's had one of the most unique design careers we've ever heard of and he tells a really great story - which made this episode especially fun for us. Hopefully, you'll dig it too!

Listen →

April 27, 2015

20: Soft Computer Hands (feat. Dustin Senos)

This week we caught up with Dustin Senos, the lead designer at Medium for the past 3 years who has spent his professional career traversing the worlds of design and engineering. We dig into Dustin's background and how design has shaped Medium into the product it is today.

Listen →

April 22, 2015

19: Super-Dinky Hodinkee (feat. Caleb Davenport and Jake Marsh)

This episode, we dug into our concerns after all the Apple Watch reviews came out with a couple of our favorite iOS developers: Caleb Davenport and Jake Marsh. This episode was completely ridiculous and fun (even moreso if you caught the Periscope livestream featuring the inimitable Marc Hemeon). We discuss the models that each of us pre-ordered as well as Amazon Dash and our most-hoped-for features of the Apple Watch when it finally comes out!

Listen →

April 20, 2015

18: Kleenex Testers (feat. Stone Librande)

This week we broke up our regular string of web designer guests to chat with Stone Librande, lead designer at Riot Games. Stone was also the lead designer of Diablo 3, SimCity and Spore; he's an incredibly talented creator who shared so much insight with us on this episode of Design Details!

Listen →

April 15, 2015

17: Ptotes Pterodactyl (feat. Divya Manian & Bradee Evans)

This week we hung out with Divya Manian and Bradee Evans from the Photoshop team at Adobe. This was a really, really fun episode to record and Divya and Bradee were amazing guests. We got to talk about everything from important issues around diversity to just making dumb jokes about pterodactyls and unicorns. We hope you enjoy it half as much as we enjoyed recording it.

Listen →

April 13, 2015

16: Extravagant Shallowness (feat. Khoi Vinh)

This week we caught up with Khoi Vinh, an insightful and talented designer making Wildcard in New York City. In this Skype chat we talked about designing for the tablet, honesty on the web and how Khoi manages to maintain so many projects!

Listen →

April 8, 2015

15: Her Left Me (feat. Jeremy Goldberg and George Kedenburg)

This is our first time to have a second episode scheduled for the week! We're excited to try out this new format, kicking things off with two guests: Jeremy Goldberg and George Kedenburg. We chat about design at Facebook, their journeys as designers and how they're growing within such a large company.

Listen →

April 6, 2015

14: Unless You're Dumb (feat. Jared Erondu)

This week we hung out with Jared Erondu for an hour or so. He has put out an extremely impressive body of work in a very short time - from his work at Lift, to Omada, to co-founding The Industry with Drew Wilson, to his current role as Creative Director at Teespring. We covered a lot of ground - from the future of user interfaces to donuts to whether or not "UX designer" should be a job title anymore.

Listen →

March 30, 2015

13: Eating Horse (feat. Maurice Woods)

We had an amazing conversation this week with Maurice "Mo" Woods, a senior visual designer at Yahoo and founder of the Inneract Project. We chat about what he's doing in design education, diversity in design and how his background as a pro basketball player has served him in his career as a designer.

Listen →

March 23, 2015

12: Topsoil Decisions (feat. Ryan Sims)

This past week we sat down with Ryan Sims, the former head of design at Rdio. We caught up with him about his latest career change as he heads to Adobe, what it was like growing the design team at Rdio and what it means to have a design mentor. This was an insightful episode, and we hope you all enjoy!

Listen →

March 16, 2015

11: Artisanal Fitness (feat. Erika Hall)

This week we caught up with Erika Hall, co-founder of Mule Design and author of Just Enough Research. We dive deep into a handful of topics, from user research to gender in tech, from the Apple Watch to the evolution of San Francisco culture - we had a lot of fun recording this one!

Listen →

March 10, 2015

Bonus Episode: Apple Watch Watch 2015

Today we're excited to release a special bonus episode of the Design Details Podcast! After today's Apple Watch event we grabbed Sam Soffes to chat about the implications for us as designers and what the watch means for app design going into the future.

Listen →

March 9, 2015

10: Tiny Nuggets of Delight (feat. Tim Van Damme)

This week we caught up with Tim Van Damme, an amazing designer who has been a part of some of our favorite products including Instagram and Dropbox. For this hour we chat about Tim's past experience in design, working on Mailbox, Dribbble and the future of design/technology. We had a lot of fun with this show and we hope you all enjoy the conversation!

Listen →

March 2, 2015

9: When Did the Marketing Department Get Here? (feat. Paul Stamatiou and Avi Cieplinski)

For Episode 9, we had our first chat with two guests! This time we caught up with Paul Stamatiou and Avi Cieplinski, from the Photo and Video Team at Twitter. We covered a lot this week - chatting about prototyping, wearables, design process and what it's like to work at Twitter and Apple!

Listen →

February 23, 2015

8: Deathly Allergic to Avocado (feat. Chloe Park)

Episode 8 everyone! This week we sat down with the lovely Chloe Park, an experience designer making things happen at OpenTable. We chat about everything from the design process at OpenTable to Chloe's biggest problems with relationships in tech. This was a fun episode for us to record and we hope you enjoy it!

Listen →

February 16, 2015

7: VP of Unnecessary Redesign (feat. Cap Watkins)

This week we caught up with Cap Watkins, the recently-appointed VP of design at BuzzFeed. We picked Cap's brain about hiring designers, A/B testing, beard-growing, East Coast design and more. Oh, and robo-horses!

Listen →

February 9, 2015

6: Down the Stuffed Rabbit Hole (feat. Marissa Louie)

This week we hung out with Marissa Louie - a rather prolific designer, activist, and creator who has worked on many of our favorite products at places like Apple, Yahoo, Ness Computing, and Wanelo, among others. We discussed everything from teddy bears to social justice - and the profound impact of emotional design.

Listen →

February 2, 2015

5: Squeeze in Some Meat with Your Candy (feat. Gabriel Valdivia)

This week we had a chat with Gabriel Valdivia, a Product Designer at Facebook. He's a close friend and a remarkable designer best known for his work at Automatic. We had a great time chatting about a lot of Gabe's favorite things - from prototyping to Serial to meat/candy hybrids.

Listen →

January 26, 2015

4: Meatspace User Onboarding (feat. Kristy Tillman)

This week we caught up with Kristy Tillman, a former designer at IDEO who now leads the design charge at Society of Grownups. We had a great time chatting across a huge range of topics, from diversity in tech to meatspace user onboarding!

Listen →

January 19, 2015

3: I'm Tired of Looking at Apps (feat. Wilson Miner)

Another Monday means another episode of Design Details! This week we caught up with Wilson Miner, an insanely thoughtful and talented designer well-known for his work at Apple, Rdio and Facebook. In this episode we talked with Wilson about game design, his favorite products and more - we hope you enjoy the show!

Listen →

January 12, 2015

2: So Vanilla (feat. Nick Slater)

Here we go, episode two of the Design Details Podcast! This week we caught up with Nick Slater, an insanely talented designer and illustrator doing wonderful work at Palantir.

Listen →

January 5, 2015

1: How Nerdy of an Answer Do You Want? (feat. Sam Soffes)

The first episode of Design Details has arrived! For our opening show, we sat down with designer and developer Sam Soffes to talk about his latest project (Whiskey), building in public, brag-driven development and his interest in working as a designer.

Listen →

December 1, 2014

0: Design Details Teaser

This is a little teaser recording for us to test our equipment, set up our feeds and get the website up and running. You can subscribe to the podcast by heading to http://designdetails.fm and following on iTunes, RSS or email! The first Design Details episode is coming January 5th, 2015 - stay posted!

Listen →